Violin's Song
by TheBlueJetpack
Summary: Prankster Gloyd has been rather moody lately and decides to play a big prank on Crumbelina. But the sweet sound of a violin unexpectedly brings about a most different outcome that may help both of them with their own secret problems. A warm tale of 2 polar-opposites who learn that friendship is the greatest and strongest tool to hold when life gets rough.
1. Gloyd's Perfect Prank

_A/N: Hey, guys! It's been a while since I touched base with the WiR fandom, though this idea has been in development since 'A Couple of Weirdos', which was published way back in July of last year. This was actually hinted in the aforementioned story, once with a small insert introducing Crumbelina's characterization, and then later during Rancis and Swizzle's in-depth conversation. Why not go back and see if you can find them?_

_The 1__st__ and the 3__rd__ stories I wrote for WiR explored Rancis and Candlehead's friendship as they both slowly came to terms of how deep it truly is. Now, we'll give them a break to dive into the lives of some other characters and their personal plights. For such minor characters in the movies, there is an amazing amount of potential for all of them if you dig deep enough. Why, oh why did they delete that dinner scene with the Sugar Rush kids? This story does follow the others chronologically, so it'd be worthwhile to read 'To Light a Candle' and 'A Couple of Weirdos' first before diving into this one if you want the full experience and background of the universe that I've set up for these arcade characters. But if you want to skip straight ahead to read Crumbelina and Gloyd's story, read on! Depending on how I choose to split up the story, it should run to 4 or 5 chapters._

_Also, I recently watched Bride of Frankenstein for a film class. That gave me some inspiration._

_And above all, enjoy!_

_**As a fun little game, can you count all the nicknames that Gloyd receives for himself in this story? Leave your answer in the comment roster.**_

* * *

Violin's Song

January 12 – February 29, 2020

**Part 1 - Gloyd's Perfect Prank**

Crumbelina DiCaramello had an interesting status in the _Sugar Rush _universe. She was hard competition, not as serious as Taffyta nor as graceful as Swizzle, but well-versed on the track in her own way. Skilled and smart, she could dodge giant gumballs with ease and drift the difficult turns without suffering a wipe out. Her aiming with the Sweet Seekers was sharp and precise, and her quick-calculating mind could target the precise moments when to use them. Plus, her special core ability embedded in her code was a very valuable one for the players: having the highest attack-strength with power-ups used against her opponents. Unfortunately, even with such an advantageous ability, she ironically wasn't the most popular racer to the arcade's patrons. The game popularity wasn't the issue, as _Sugar Rush _was one of Mr. Litwak's most loved games, what with it being one of the only ones existing in America. With bright flashy colours, fun candy themes, fast-pace racing, and realistic graphics, who wouldn't want to insert their quarters into the machine's slot and play all nine of the day's playable racers? Most visitors to Litwak's Family Fun Centre and Arcade were kids who would play as many games per day as possible. So that wasn't the issue here.

Crumbelina's real problem stemmed from the fact that all the other available avatars during gameplay were far more colourful and vibrant in appearance than her and drove much cooler-looking racing karts than her Tira-Missile. Kids tended to be attracted to things like these more than racing skill and power-up advantages, so Crumbelina often found herself racing solo without a player if she was even lucky enough to be an option on the leaderboard to represent her game for the day. Not that it bothered her all that much, as it meant she could drive freely without having to obey the players' commands. Despite this though, there was the subtle feeling of rejection and disappointment lingering within her candy heart that was undeniable.

It was out of her control too. Her candy theme was programmed to be based upon the finest Italian desserts invented with the fanciest creams and coatings. Decked in rich beige, metallic gold, and glossy brown, she dressed to represent her theme, and her kart was no exception: the Tira-Missile was adorned with intricate drizzles of dark chocolate atop a beautifully carved slice of tiramisu. She was very proud of it, but the colours that decorated her just did not stand out in the same way as the rainbow-coloured candy themes of her friends. Snowanna and Swizzle were extremely popular candidates chosen by the players for this exact reason. Not to mention that most players had never even heard of the desserts that revolved around her circles; heck even some of her friends had trouble identifying her fancy confections. Tiramisu and biscotti just weren't as popular with the general public as chocolate peanut butter cups and strawberry lollipops.

Thankfully, this empty feeling in her stomach only existed during races. Off the track, the girl enjoyed spending time with her fellow racers and her adoptive parents, Fix-It Felix and Sergeant Calhoun. A natural social butterfly, Crumbelina was very approachable, and everyone liked her. She continued to grow closer to her friends and took it upon herself to get to know those she knew little about. Even in the Turbo era, when all of the racers, herself included, were quite snarky and kept to themselves, she knew that everyone had a story to share and she delighted in being a potential new friend's audience, giving anyone the chance to speak.

To top it off, she was also the richest racer in the entire game. Of all of _Sugar Rush_'s citizens in fact, a title once belonging to President Vanellope, but now handed down to her since the former was no longer with them. Her programming had surrounded her by wealth and grandeur since the day they had been plugged in, giving Crumbelina all the luxuries an average 10-year old girl could only dream to have. She lived in a fancy four-storey mansion at the very end of Racers' Ave., the street where all the racers resided along. She owned a chocolate fondue hot tub and a king-sized salt water taffy bed. She had stocked up some of the latest and fanciest upgrades for her kart in her 3-kart garage. But such extravagance did not make her think lower of the others. She was happy to share her possessions with her friends and frequently invited them into the mansion to hang out and enjoy her hot tub, which she knew was the envy of everyone in her life. As opposed to your average snooty rich-girl, she remained loyal to her official bio; she was truly a 'down-and-dirty racer', never afraid to get her hands grimy as she performed routine maintenance on own kart and participated in the races just like everyone else. While certainly more sophisticated than the others, she was still a kid at heart.

And ever since Felix and Calhoun had taken the kids under their wings as their own children, it had fallen upon Crumbelina, who admittedly was the most mature of the group, to adopt something of her very own: the role of an honourary big sister. Yes, she had slowly taken it upon herself to look out for her new family, defending them from harm and making sure everyone stayed under control. These were instincts that, although new to her, fell quite naturally and she was proud to own them.

All in all, the girl believed that she was leading a good life. But sadly, nothing seemed to fill the empty void present inside her that remained unpleasantly vacant every passing day when she was not selected to be played by an arcade gamer. She hid this depression deep inside her; she didn't want to burden her friends over a matter that she felt was so trivial and not worth minding over, no matter how much she did anyway. But she had to do something to release the grey cloud of disappointment that often grew within her.

And so, after the days' worth of quarter-alerts and races was over, arcade closed, and the Random Roster Race out of the way, Crumbelina would retire home and do what she often did when she was feeling this way: step out onto the wide balcony of her mansion's top floor and play her violin. She was one of the few citizens of _Sugar Rush _who had developed an interest outside of their programming, the others being Candlehead and Jubileena, both of whom now possessed a passion for crocheting, thanks to Nicelander Deanna from _Fix-It Felix Jr. _

Snowanna, who had been programmed with a liking for all kinds of pop and funk, was the only other citizen that she knew of who enjoyed music. Their shared interest was one of the leading factors to why the girls were such good friends, though Crumbelina preferred the classical type and more gentler tunes than her wild-haired sister. Nonetheless, besides Snowanna, not many people knew of her passionate ability to wield her violin like an attachment to her body. Too bad, because she was exceptionally good at it too.

_Sugar Rush _had recently been bought by a new company that decided to keep up with the game's development with regular updates, much to Mr. Litwak's – and the game citizens' – happiness. The first one received was a big update that not only introduced three new exciting racing tracks, but also a regular night mode, allowing for even greater challenges for the players during races. Following this, Fix-It Felix had reworked the system such that night would fall naturally during standard nighttime hours, an order from the kids' mother that her children get their proper hours of sleep each night, best enabled with proper natural darkness. Since _Fix-It Felix Jr. _and _Hero's Duty _were both permanently set at night, this wasn't too unexpected. Thus, _Sugar Rush _now had a night mode. And it was during late nights such as tonight when Crumbelina would take out her violin and play out her deepest feelings out on the balcony for the entire game to hear. Perhaps as a fruitless attempt to help others understand how she was feeling, or to somehow release her sorrow and glumness to the sugary breeze that whistled lazily past, carrying her lamenting music out to the open lands of chocolate milk and honey.

Crumbelina sighed wistfully as she stepped out, facing the neighbourhood dotted along Racers' Ave., her instrument in hand. From up here, she could see literally everything, yet no one could see her. "All right, little guy," she murmured, a slight glimmer of a distinct Italian accent lacing her downhearted voice. "Let's hear where you're going to take me tonight." She placed the bow across the strings and began to release a new sound.

She had no idea that things were about to change.

* * *

Gloyd Orangeboar was also experiencing a problem. But his was unrelated to avatar selection. He didn't have to worry about players not choosing him, for they loved his vibrant splashes of orange mixed with his sparkly streaks of black and green, and couldn't get enough of his Halloween-themed treats. No, his problem lay far from that.

He was bored.

And for a natural-born prankster such as himself, this was a dangerous situation. Being bored meant that only one thing would cheer him up: unleashing his famous pranks.

HEAD FOR THE HILLS. Wild Orangeboar on the loose!

_Zap. _He filled Jubileena's Cherriot with gummy spiders. He actually made her pass out.

_Splat. _He sabotaged Adorabeezle's Ice Rocket, making it belch out purple jelly in all directions when she tried to start the ignition.

_Whoosh! _He replaced all of Snowanna's hair products with identical bottles filled with green dye. That one was good. And he even managed to escape her angry wrath that exploded immediately afterwards.

But as hilarious as these pranks were (at least on his end), there was nothing that could erase the feeling of boredom rising fast in Gloyd's gut. And the boy felt he had a good reason for this.

Unlike Crumbelina, Gloyd wasn't exactly the social type, even after growing closer to his fellow racers and the other characters in the other arcade games thanks to Vanellope and Ralph's mishaps and antics almost a year ago now. He had a hard time making new friends and now, after months of gaining several, it felt like he was losing them. His rogue reputation of being a master prankster and habits of tactlessly relishing in others' misfortune weren't exactly overlooked factors towards this. He couldn't help it. Practical jokes and being troublesome were all over his code.

The two friends that truly stuck to his candy heart were the other boys in the racing crew: Swizzle Malarkey and Rancis Fluggerbutter. Even in the Turbo era, when all the racers were purely rivals and raced to win (meaning that friendships were barely existent), the trio had remained thickest thieves and stuck to each other like the sticky goop from the molasses swamp. After all, in a world where the high majority of your population was girls, it was only natural for the boys to stick together. After their memories had been restored and the peace returned to their game, Swizzle and Rancis became far more pleasant and less stuck-up, permitting themselves to socialize with their female companions a bit more. Gloyd, however, remained more or less the same character he had always been, keeping to himself. And after a year or so since the infamous unplugging, somehow the fates aligned enough that his friends had found something in one another that drew them closer together. Swizzle was now officially dating Minty, the brown-eyed, green-haired racer with a mind and the moves like a steel trap. Word of the newest couple spread quickly around the arcade and everyone was happy for them. Gloyd was too, but this new development made him feel sick. Then again, he secretly knew Swizz had been crushing on Minty for years.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Gloyd – and pretty much everyone else – had noticed that Rancis had been spending a lot of his free time lately with Candlehead of all people. That just confused Gloyd. Candlehead was kind of weird, not very bright, but kind enough he supposed. Rancis' sudden interest in the girl was rather out of the blue though, so he didn't know what could have brought that on. *****

_**(A/N: *See 'To Light a Candle' for details)**_

Minty and Candlehead were both nice girls and his friends too, but he just couldn't understand why his best buddies were so into them. But the end result was that Gloyd, for the most part, was left on his own, with no one to hang out with as the only other members of his dudes group seemed too busy to be bothered with him now. And because of this, he was bored out of his mind.

And perhaps just a little lonely.

* * *

That night, as _Sugar Rush's _newly programmed marshmallow moon rose high into the inky-blue sky, a dark flash of orange darted its way towards the side window of a lavish, intricately decorated tiramisu building at the very end of _Racers' Ave. _Gloyd poked his head out of the candy floss bushes and snickered quietly to himself.

"Crumbelina's not gonna be in any racing mood after she gets hit with this," he chuckled devilishly to himself as he flicked a tuft of pink floss from his large pumpkin hat. He secretly gave thanks to their new nighttime darkness, which now granted him the ability to sneak about in the shadows and prepare his traps and pranks undetected, something that had never been easy in the daytime light.

His plan was simple: the moment Crumbelina stepped out of her house tomorrow morning to head to the races, she would get dumped with the contents of a large industrial sack of flour hanging from her porch canopy. Immediately after this, his pressure-activated cherry syrup pistol, hidden in the nearby jelly bean shrubs, would trigger and fire, splattering the white ghost of a girl with sweet red sauce. A classic mess prank never harmed anyone and it was downright hilarious to see the effects when it was all over. The little pumpkin jokester found utmost thrills in hearing the screams of terror and the murderous threats elicited from his pranking victims every single time. And this prank would be no exception: it was going to be awesome and he knew it. His tricks had never failed him before.

He began securing the pistol in its position, paying careful attention to release the safety catch only after it had been propped in an accurate angle. Now activated, it would only take the lightest of steps in its general vicinity to trigger the sticky detonation. Though his hands were busy, his mind was not. And as such, it began to wander. Out of all the girls in his game, the one he had interacted with least was the owner of this mansion and for whom he was setting up his latest prank. Not once had Gloyd ever given consideration that the posh and sophisticated Crumbelina DiCaramello would even think to have anything to do with him. They shared virtually nothing in common. All he knew was that she was rich and way more mature than any of them. He was the exact opposite of all that and wasn't afraid to admit that he delighted in all things wacky and troublesome. He loved this kind of stuff.

In spite of this, though, it had never left the back of his mind that he had secretly always wanted to get to know Crumbelina better. She was a nice girl, saying hello and the like in the rare times when they crossed paths, but that was about it. She was not the stuck-up, arrogant type like he had always expected, given that she had more than enough gold coins to buy all the latest upgrades and kart parts if she really wanted to and make even Taffyta bow down at her feet. Since he usually hung out with the boys while she tended to mingle with the girls, usually Snowanna or Jubileena, he really didn't know all that much about her. Still, he secretly hoped to one day become a good friend with her; perhaps sometime in the future he would have a better chance to connect with her.

But never mind that now…back to the prank.

"That should do it," he said to himself triumphantly as he stood on tiptoe upon a stool that he had brought along to tie up the sack of white thick powder to the decorative arch that stood above the front door. It wasn't an easy task, as the sack was very large and equally very heavy. He had to use a liberal length of licorice coil to secure it up there above his head. It was a sack of the large sizes too, ones only used in the Kart Bakery, which was exactly where it originated from. Gloyd was notorious for stealing parts and baking ingredients, and sometimes even rigging the minigames so that the players ended up with malfunctioning karts. Vanellope and Ralph's record for breaking-and-entering and making a kart without permission was nothing compared to his long list of wrongdoings that Beard Papa had kept pinned to his office wall. He was surprised that they didn't ban him from the bakery by this point.

He hopped down carefully to proudly admire his handiwork; no one could set up a great trick like the Halloween-themed prankster that was Gloyd Orangeboar. "Now to sneak away _unseen_," he said to himself triumphantly. He was about to leave, to let Crumbelina enjoy his 'gift' for her tomorrow bright and early, when he heard something that made him freeze. A strange, yet oddly pleasant sort of sound was filling the air in a faint whine. This made him frown. Was he hearing things?

Then he looked up; there was some kind of music coming from the balcony three floors above his head. It was almost like singing, but not quite. Not wanting to be seen, the boy edged his way out from the front door's archway just a few inches to see if he could detect the source. His brown eyes spotted something leaning just over chocolate-drizzled railing of the balcony. He didn't know what it was, but he did see a small hand grasping it gently. Gloyd stared as he listened to the music. He had heard music before, sometimes when he hung around The Sweet Spot lounge in the village to listen to Candlehead or Snowanna sing karaoke backed by some of the latest tunes, but nothing like this. It wasn't wild or full of beat like what he often associated music to be surrounded by. It was different. It was calm and delicate, but also a little sad, sort of like a lament. And even though he was no expert with music, he was…captivated. He inched another step forward to see if he could hear a little better.

That one careless step was all that was needed to trigger the cherry-syrup pistol. A full blast of thick red liquid fired right into his face, making Gloyd yelp in shock as the sticky stuff got into his eyes; he stumbled backwards, blinded, and ended up tripping and falling upon Crumbelina's porch, the sudden force shaking the bag of powdered flour suspended directly above his head. Before he could figure out what was going on, the bag suddenly broke free from its licorice restraints and came plummeting down…


	2. The Prankster Who Came to Dinner

**Part 2 – The Prankster Who Came to Dinner**

Everything was dark. And fuzzy. Every once in a while, a bright flash of light would appear before his shut eyes. And there were voices. Weird voices. Despite the splitting, aching pain at his head, Gloyd was just able to make out what they were saying.

"He'll be all right! That was a nasty bump he had on his head, but he should be all fixed now! Just make sure he rests easy when he wakes up, and he should be zip-zooming lickety split in time for tomorrow!"

"Thanks, Daddy. You too, Snowanna."

"Don't mention it, Lina. Though I'm still surprised you did all that for him, given what he was planning on doing to you…"

"Well, he's a complete idiot. But I couldn't just leave him on my front step."

The distinctly jolly voice of Fix-It Felix chuckled. "That's my girl! Always looking out for others, even if they aren't too kind in return. That's the way! Well, I think my work here is done. Give me another call if he's not feeling 100% in the next hour or so, and I'll give him a few more taps."

"Of course. Anna, I think your hair is still showing some green just behind your ear."

He heard Snowanna growl. "I swear, if I ever catch him even _near_ my house again, I'm gonna strangle him! I MEAN it this time! I'd do it to him now, if he wasn't so beat up already. Well…good luck, Lina. You sure you don't want me to stick around and help you deal with him when he wakes up?"

"I'll be fine, thanks. Good night, you two."

Two sets of footsteps resounded after this exchange, growing fainter and fainter until they disappeared from Gloyd's earshot. With the sugar-coated gears in his mind finally whirring into action, his eyes snapped open, the sudden exposure to light and an unfamiliar space making his sight all distorted. When his eyes finally came into focus, they locked immediately with the honey-amber eyes of Crumbelina DiCaramello herself. He found that he was lying upon some kind of couch with the girl looking down at him with a look of deepest disapproval.

"All right, Orangeboar, enough snoozing," she said flatly in a very sour tone mixed with a shimmer of relief. "You've napped long enough."

Gloyd blinked at her and tried to sit up from the couch, suddenly finding it difficult as his skull was struck with a bothersome throbbing. He reached up to rub his head and was surprised to find his signature pumpkin hat was missing. "Wha-wha-what happened? Where am I?"

"You are in my house," she said patiently, her voice laced with a slight Italian accent that Gloyd found rather intriguing. Soothing, almost, and definitely easy on the ears. He rarely got to hear Crumbelina speak, let alone talk to her directly.

"Consider yourself lucky," she went on. "That was a nasty spill you're recovering from."

"What happened?" he asked again as he slowly took in his new environment. He recognized Crumbelina's massive living room, having been here on a few rare occasions, but his brain had yet to catch up as to why he was in here. Not very easy, since using his brain for thinking and remembering seemed to be making the throbbing worse.

Crumbelina sat down on the other end of the couch, putting considerable distance between them. She raised an unimpressed eyebrow, clearly indicating that she was _not _happy with him. "I was going about my business when I heard a blast and someone yelling at my front door, followed by a loud thump. Imagine my surprise when I find a giant mess on my doorstep: _you_ of all people lying unconscious, covered with cherry syrup and a brand-new sack of flour lying on top of your squashed hat. One I assume was taken from the Kart Bakery, hm?"

"Y-yeah," he mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed now as the memory of what had happened slowly came back to him. "Wait…the sack…hit me? It didn't break open?"

"Obviously not. Those things are sealed tightly, Gloyd. They're not going to split upon impact."

"Oh."

He should have known that. Now he felt plain silly. His perfect pranks had on occasion backfired before, but not this badly.

"And so," she continued, fiddling with the silver-plated zipper of her metallic gold racing jacket. "I asked Snowanna to bring Dad here while I brought you inside to clean you up. Mom flew him here on her hover board, he fixed up your head and your squashed hat with his hammer, and then you woke up. Since Dad recommends that you rest with minimal movements, I suppose I'll be stuck with you for the next little while."

Gloyd stared at her. Just over her shoulder, he finally spotted his hat on a nearby table. It was shiny, clean and restored from its previous flattened state, as if nothing had happened to it. Perched next to it was a bucket with a syrup-splattered towel draped over its side. "You…you did all that for me?"

She snorted. "Well, I obviously wasn't going to leave you there. You don't make a very nice ornament for my porch. Besides, no one deserves to be left out of the house in the cold of night. Not even you."

Then Crumbelina narrowed her eyes at him, speaking in a very low tone. "You could have been seriously hurt, mister. You were _this _close to actually dying and respawning, but since you were only knocked out, you survived with the minor scrape. It makes me wonder how you were planning on this so-called _prank _to play out on your actual intended party on the receiving end."

Gloyd wilted on the spot and dropped his eyes in shame. Even though the ten kids were all programmed to be the same age, there was a distinct aura of maturity and control that Crumbelina always emitted, giving her the sense of an authoritative figure. Nowhere near Sergeant Calhoun's level (no one could top that), but enough to make him feel a whole lot lower deep down in his stomach. The disappointed look she was sending his way gave him the same feeling he felt whenever their mother directed him the exact same look. It was the feeling of guilt. He didn't like guilt at all, because it meant he was in the wrong and that he had to apologize. And he really didn't like apologizing, but he knew that he had to do it. It was something Mom had taught him specifically. "Yeah…sorry Crumbelina. I guess I wasn't thinking…"

"That's clear to see," she said in an icy tone. She folded her arms in a most disgusted way, bearing a striking resemblance to her official promo pose.

He winced painfully. It hurt badly enough to have gotten injured from a prank gone wrong; it hurt even worse to have been caught and tortured by his own guilt. "I'm sorry! I guess I was just trying to find some way to keep busy…or something. I've been so bored lately! But-but-but then I thought I heard music or something coming from your balcony, and then I got distracted because I tried to lean in for a closer look, and I triggered my own prank...and, well, you know the rest."

He hazarded a chance to look back up at Crumbelina, prepared for another reproachful remark from the girl and was surprised to see that she no longer looked angry. In fact, he couldn't really tell what she was. She was eyeing him carefully, her expression unreadable. But it looked like she was thinking deeply.

When she spoke, her voice was no longer icy either. It was instead gentler, almost a bit uneasy. "Well…you heard correctly. There _was_ music on the balcony. My music, in fact."

Gloyd blinked and was suddenly interested, a rare thing for him. He didn't usually care what anyone else got into. "Really? I thought Snowanna was the only music-making girl around here. What was it that I heard?"

"My violin," she answered. Her voice was softening, which Gloyd noticed.

"Oh, right," he said hastily. He then remembered why he had been distracted in the first place. "I didn't know you could play the violin. It, um…sounded really nice," he offered, trying his hardest to choose words carefully.

"Do you think so?" asked Crumbelina quietly, unable to resist as she met his gaze.

"Yeah! I've never heard anything like it!" he said with spirit, and he meant it too. In a rapid change of pace, he was finding himself feeling surprisingly better, despite his current predicament. Plus, this topic change seemed to be distracting Crumbelina from her previous anger with him. He suddenly paused, twiddling his fingers absent-mindedly. "Um, if it's not too much trouble, Crumbelina…since it looks like I'm going to be here for a while, could you…play some for me? Please?"

The girl's mouth twitched ever so slightly into the tiniest smile as she watched her 'guest' fumble with his request. No one had ever asked her to play her music for them before. Granted though, barely anyone knew she could play. "Oh, very well," she said as she stood up. "I suppose I'll have to find some way to entertain you while you're here." Trying hard not to let her enthusiasm pass through her polished exterior, she walked out of the room to collect her instrument where she had left it when she had gone to investigate the source of the disruptive sound an hour ago.

As soon as Crumbelina was in the next room and out of Gloyd's earshot, her whole face lit up excitedly and she released a barely audible squeal. She had always longed for an audience, but was always too shy to directly ask for one. This could be fun, even if her audience was Gloyd Orangeboar, the most destructive and immature of the kids, and whom she didn't necessarily despise, but did wish would act a bit more appropriate, since each of the ten racers, once rowdy and obnoxious, had now reformed with attitudes for the better...except for Gloyd, who seemed to be the slowest in improving his name. She supposed she couldn't really blame him since he was programmed to be a natural prankster. This wasn't the first time he had chosen her as a pranking target either; she still hadn't forgotten the time when he had swapped all the chocolate fondue of her hot tub with tomato juice last year.

While he waited for Crumbelina to return, Gloyd took a good look around. The couch of tiramisu he was lying on (which was very comfy) was in the middle of her massive living room, which was lavishly decked with many pieces of fancy furniture. Everything was decorated with intricate patterns of chocolate icing and tufts of swirly cream that seemed to emit a shine, even at night. Gloyd didn't know anything about interior design, but even he was impressed by Crumbelina's tastes and pizazz; certainly no one else he knew in _Sugar Rush, _or probably the entire arcade,owned a house like this. He had visited the penthouse from Dad's game a couple of times, and while that was certainly high-class, it didn't quite compare to Crumbelina's place. She had a style and taste of her very own. Even more aweing was that this was all for her.

Everything was just so polished and glossy everywhere he looked, adorned with splashes of gold, brown, or creamy white. Her possessions weren't super colourful like what he and the rest of his friends owned, but they matched Crumbelina's theme bang-on. He knew she was wealthy and liked her luxuries, yet he wasn't so sure a single girl needed all of this. Then again, Gloyd didn't know her all that well, but he did know that Crumbelina was very popular with the other racers and citizens of _Sugar Rush_, not because she owned all this stuff, but because she was the exact opposite of what you would expect her to be: instead of the snooty, spoiled rich girl she had every right to have been, she was very kind and practically everyone's favourite big sister figure. Honestly, he had always longed to see her like this too, though at the moment, that didn't seem very likely, given that she was probably still upset with him for attempting to pull a prank that obviously would have ended in disaster for her.

He felt a little disappointed with himself now; after all, why would a highly sophisticated and refined girl like Crumbelina want to connect with an immature and goofy boy like himself?

Just then, Crumbelina herself returned, holding her violin in one hand and a bowl of biscotti in another. She placed the latter on the coffee table in front of him. "Hungry?" she offered.

He actually was. "A little…thanks," he said politely as he helped himself. He rarely got to enjoy Crumbelina's exotic treats, and that was saying something since Gloyd's whole candy motif was Halloween, meaning that he got to indulge himself in a massive variety of candy, but Italian desserts just weren't included.

Crumbelina watched him for a moment. "I must warn you…I'm not as good as Snowanna when she rocks away on her instruments," she said to him humbly as she stood by the couch readying her beloved violin.

He was surprised by the slight glow of nervousness in her voice. She was always so confident in herself. "Aw, come on," he pressed encouragingly, swallowing his mouthful. "I'm sure you're just perfect!"

She permitted another smile, and then began to play.

Though starting off faint at first, the violin's song that she had chosen gradually grew in strength and volume as she skillfully moved the bow back and forth, filling the room with a delicate sound. It was unlike anything Gloyd had ever heard before. It had already sounded nice when he had heard it standing four floors below, but it was even nicer now that he was in the same room, the music plain and clear to his ears. It was beautiful, though he wouldn't admit it out loud. He didn't consider many things to be _beautiful_, and it couldn't be emphasized enough that he certainly didn't know anything about music, but this…this was something truly different. He didn't know what it was, but all he knew was that he liked it. He liked it a lot. It was a sad sort of song, almost as if the violin was crying, but maybe that was why he felt so mesmerized. Gloyd's eyes softened as he curled up on the couch, settling in comfortably to listen.

Crumbelina kept her gaze upon her fingers as she continued to play her song, but shifted it a few times to look at Gloyd. Though his eyes were closed, she knew he was listening. Her smile grew just a bit more as she played her heart out, gaining some confidence back.

When she was done, Gloyd looked up at her as she lowered the instrument, her song complete. "Wow. Just…just…_wow_," was all he managed to say, clearly at a loss for words.

The girl sat down next to him, notably not so far from him as before. "I take it you liked that," she teased.

"I sure did!" he said, not even trying to hide his growing excitement. "I had no idea you were that good."

His complement made her blush lightly. "Well, thank you, Gloyd. That's very nice of you to say that. Though I suppose I can't take all the credit."

"What do you mean?"

Crumbelina looked at him. "You know Mary from Dad's game?"

Gloyd had to rack up his memory. Though the throbbing in his head had stopped, it wasn't easy for him to remember all the names of all the other arcade citizens he had met over the last year. There were just so many of them. "Ehh…kinda?"

To his astonishment, his response actually made Crumbelina giggle. "You got no eyes at all, do you, orange boy?" she teased, making him blush. "She's the one who wears purple all the time. It turns out she also plays violin. We started talking and now she's been giving me lessons at least once a week. She even lent me some of her sheet music."

Gloyd reached for another biscotti as he listened to her. "Well, they definitely payed off. Think I could hear some more?"

Crumbelina beamed.

* * *

_**To be continued…**_


	3. One Good Turn

**Part 3 – One Good Turn**

A short while later, the kids were seated on the snow-white bench stationed on Crumbelina's wide fourth floor balcony. At ground level, one could easily tell that her mansion stood so tall, but from way up here, Gloyd was amazed at the view that it offered. He could see practically all of Racers' Ave. from this one spot alone. He relaxed comfortably as the soft breeze puffed lazily at his dark brown hair; his pumpkin hat was still inside. Lounging on one side of the comfy bench, Crumbelina playing away on her violin on the other, and the refilled bowl of biscotti along with a platter of rich cannoli occupying the little table in front of them, Gloyd could not help but think one thing: _This has got to be what living like a king is like. _

As fun as this was to relax and enjoy a new form of live entertainment that was _not _watching characters falling for his pranks and traps, Gloyd felt a most peculiar feeling in his chest. No one had ever showed him this sort of kindness before, besides his parents when they had first adopted the crew of wild kids and dealt with their chaotic behaviours and rebellious attitudes. He could still remember deliberately knocking over his glass of milk at dinnertime just to annoy Fix-It Felix and watch him easily clean up the mess with his hammer. Even then, Felix and Calhoun had put up with the feral 10 and displayed nothing short of love and compassion for them all. And now, Crumbelina was showing him a very similar treatment as she shared her food, bench, and her music with him. This had all been very new to Gloyd, and it still was. He was used to others yelling at him and hurling death threats for hoodwinking them with tricks and practical jokes. He didn't quite understand this, but he did know one thing: for the first time in so long, he felt happy.

He spoke up only after Crumbelina had lowered her violin to take a break for a while. "I've never heard anyone else mention that you played violin before. Or am I just deaf?"

That was a likely case, since he wasn't very good at paying attention to what anyone else did, not that he had really cared. He was expecting Crumbelina to confirm this, so he was surprised when she shook her head.

"No, you're not deaf. Snowanna's really the only one who knows this…and now you, I suppose. I haven't really told anyone else. I just…don't feel like it," she said lamely.

"How come?" he asked, confused. "You're awesome at it! I think everyone should know."

She looked at him, her eyes twinkling. "You really think so?"

"Sure! I mean, _I_ like it. I think they'll all love it!"

Crumbelina smiled at him. "Maybe."

Following this friendly exchange, the pair sat there quietly and content, sitting out on Crumbelina's balcony as they admired the beauty of _Sugar Rush_'s new night mode. Seeing the world that they had lived in all their coded lives for over 20 years in this new nighttime environment was nothing short of surreal to their youthful eyes. At night, there seemed to be a magic surrounding the atmosphere that could only be unlocked when all was dark and quiet. The lights of their friends' houses and the nearby village down the road sparkled like a sea of gold cornpuff nuggets laden upon the terrain of glazed icing and chocolate mousse. The newly-installed candy cane lampposts had just turned on, illuminating the sugar dusting the whole street like a glittery trail straight out of a fantasy storybook. The colourful Starburst stars twinkled brightly alongside the grand marshmallow moon that cast its brilliant light upon the world below. The game developers who had recently bought _Sugar Rush _had really done some fine work with this upgrade; the attention to detail was truly impressive. Unlike _Fix-It Felix Jr., _whose gameplay was primarily set in one angle, and thus featured a wide window in the middle of the black 8-bit sky for the players to look through, _Sugar Rush_'s world was not disrupted by such a large gaping hole, for much like _Hero's Duty, _the gameplay operated via a first-person view thanks to the marshmallow techs' numerous video cameras as they filmed every race, both for the replay booths and the players' driving interaction.

"Crumbelina?"

"Hm?"

Gloyd swallowed, but he really needed to know this. He tried his hardest to be polite as possible with the words he chose. "This is really great, and your music is really, really nice. But I'm…confused. How come you're being so nice to me? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love _all _of this, but a short while ago, you looked like you wanted to punch the jellybeans out of me. Now it's almost like you're giving me the royal treatment."

At this, the girl laughed. "Oh, Gloyd, Gloyd, Gloyd, you hollow pumpkin-head," she said teasingly. "I was only mad at you because your injuries meant I would have met the same fate that you had. So, can you blame me for wanting to give you a good messing? But I could see that you had learned your lesson and decided that you had suffered enough. So, I forgave you. It's in the past now, right?"

Gloyd looked at her, feeling rather astonished by her ability to let this go so easily, yet immensely relieved that she possessed it. "Right."

She smirked as she twisted a biscotti between her little fingers. "And as for why I'm being so nice to you now…well, I think everyone deserves some kindness. Even if they've never been kind to you before. It's a little secret I've always known, but it's a whole 'nother thing to feel it for real."

This made Gloyd feel better, but also a little bit sad again. He wasn't exactly known around _Sugar Rush _for his kindness. He was broken out of his thoughts when Crumbelina asked him something new.

"Do you remember when Mom and Dad first adopted us?"

"Um, yeah?"

"That was some of the greatest kindness anyone had ever shown me," Crumbelina explained. "When we lost _Sugar Rush_, I was devastated. I didn't know where we would go or what we were going to do."

Gloyd remembered that day well. He too had entered a mighty panic state when it hit him full force how he and all his friends had lost everything so quickly. He remembered seeing Crumbelina's face as Wynnchel and Duncan hugged each other, bawling their donut eyes out behind their thick shades that they were now homeless; she had certainly looked frightened, though admittedly had not been going completely berserk as everyone else had been doing. She must have been pretty shaken on the inside however, he realized, since she owned the most possessions out of all the citizens besides Vanellope and subsequently had the most to lose. She had lost her kart, her mansion, her hot tub, all these fancy snacks and gold coins, and her violin. No wonder she had looked so distressed.

As if she were reading his mind, Crumbelina continued. "It hurt to lose our game, but it hurt even more that nobody in the arcade wanted us. You know, for a few brief moments, I felt like Vanellope when we treated her like dirt during Turbo's reign. She was alone with nowhere to go and nobody wanted her either. I felt just like that. And it hurt so much."

Gloyd gulped as painful memories of how he had treated their former president began creeping back to him. They weren't easy to return to, even if the whole mess hadn't entirely been his fault. But he was still responsible for the deliberate pranks and insults he had inflicted upon poor Vanellope whenever he had happened to cross her path.

"But then," she went on, "Mr. Felix and Mrs. Calhoun offered to adopt us. I felt…well, I felt something different that day. I felt loved. And safe. No one had ever given me so much kindness in one night. Even after I literally climbed their window curtain with Dad's hammer, he was still so patient and nice to me. And even though we destroyed their apartment, Mom never once hit us or point her gun at our faces like I feared she might. They treated us like we were their own. I've never really been able to shake off this feeling I have whenever I'm around them, and I _definitely _never want to. They've certainly taught me a thing or two in the brief time we were living with them."

Crumbelina gazed off towards the direction leading to Game Central Station before removing her cap. Gloyd couldn't help but stare as she did this; he had never seen her without it. It gave him a rare chance to see her without any headgear and she looked…different. Her hairstyle was rather pretty, if he was really being honest with himself. Her deep brown hair seemed to give off a gentle shine in the marshmallow moonlight with a light golden streak that became more pronounced at the two little cinnamon hair buns she wore on each side of her head. When she turned to look at him, he quickly averted his eyes.

"So you see, Gloyd…everyone deserves kindness and compassion. No matter who they are or how much they act like a complete idiot, we all need it," she finished grandly.

At last, he looked back at her. All the hate and loathing that had filled her eyes earlier were nonexistent, instead replaced by a look that was warm and inviting, one that radiated peace and tranquility. To top it off, she was smiling softly at him. No one had ever given him this sort of look before. Certainly not Crumbelina. He liked it.

"Wow. Now I see why everyone likes you," he said truthfully. "I though love and kindness were Jubileena's expertise. But it sounds like you got it all worked out. No one's really showed me that kind of stuff…until today."

There was a brief moment of silence as they just looked at each other. Then the girl smirked. "Well, your famous _pranks _don't exactly do much to enhance your relationships, Mr. Hallow-scheme," she said as-a-matter-of-factly. "I'm sure if you give the other girls a break every once in a while, they'd be a lot more open to reaching out to you. A little kindness goes a long way."

Gloyd wasn't so sure it was that easy for him. He had been programmed to live as a juvenile trickster, how was he supposed to change that? It was stated in his official bio and thus vibrated the very fibre in his code every day. He broke his gaze to fix it upon a random chocolate truffle in the distance. "Man, being rich just does everything for you doesn't it? A huge house, all the kart parts you need, and the secret to getting everyone to like you."

Crumbelina snorted. "For your information, Colonel Kernel, there are lots of things that money can't buy. Good friends who stick by your side for one."

He eyed her nonchalantly. "Anything else?"

"Respect, Gloyd. A sense of loyalty. Trust. World peace and harmony. Players."

For some reason in the back of his mind, that last item on the list perked his attention. Though he could be quite unobservant of these kinds of things, for the briefest moment, Gloyd thought he heard it: there was a slight wavering in Crumbelina's voice, uneasiness almost. And for a girl as confident and so sure of life as she was, that was unusual. Gloyd cut her off. "Wait, what was that last one?"

She suddenly stopped. "Nothing," she said quickly, realizing she had let it slip.

"No, hang on, you said 'players'…and sounded different when you said that. What'd you mean by that?"

Crumbelina stared at him and then looked away with a frown. She had kept this as her secret for a long time now, was she really going to reveal it? And to Gloyd of all people? She looked back at the boy. Yes, he was rebellious, rogue, and downright troublesome, but all through the night while he had been with her, she couldn't help but sense something different about him, as if seeing him in a new light for the first time.

A certain light that radiated a glow of trust.

"I'll tell you, Gloyd, but only if you promise not to tell anyone else. Do you promise?"

Gloyd blinked in surprise. "Y-yeah, of course," he said, caught a tad off guard by the anxiety present in her voice. He even crossed his fingers across his heart, in hopes of letting her know that he wasn't going to listen to her just because he had stumbled upon a secret, but because he was genuinely worried that something was bothering her.

She sighed and shuffled her body to face him better on the bench. Truth be told, she wasn't quite sure where to start. It had always been nagging the back of her mind that she would one day confide her deepest feelings with her close girl friends, but had never planned its execution out entirely. Yet, here she was, about to reveal her secret to not her closest gal pals, but to Gloyd. It became clear that she was just going to have to grip it and rip it.

"All right then," she started slowly, hesitation sprinkled in her Italian-accented voice, a particular combination that Gloyd instantly felt did not suit her. "Well…I haven't exactly been picked by a gamer to be their avatar to race with for the last four months."

The boy stared at her. "_Four months?_ You're joking."

She shook her head. "No joke, joke-master. The kids in the arcade…they like pretty colours and candy that they're familiar with. Rarely do any of them know what my sweets are supposed to be. They just don't think me or even my kart are as good-looking as the rest of you."

Gloyd was very taken aback. He had lost count how many times that he himself had been chosen by the players in just today, but it had to have been at least a dozen times. And every time, he hadn't noticed who had _not_ been picked. He eyed Crumbelina and although he wasn't nearly as good at seeing or sensing these kinds of things as she was, he could see as plain as the moonlight how very sad she now looked.

"I…I'm sorry to hear that, Crumbelina," he said genuinely, now feeling guilty for bringing this up. "I didn't know."

She looked over at him. "I don't expect you to," she mumbled softly, her voice sounding very broken.

"But…what about Rancis?" he asked. "His colours are mostly brown and yellow. He's not like Swizzle or Candlehead…and his kart is even less colourful."

"Yes, but the difference with Rancis is that the players recognize and love his peanut butter cups and chocolate," she explained. "He may not be dressed with flashy colours, but he still works with candy that the public knows and loves. I have neither."

Crumbelina sighed deeply. "I don't tell anyone this, but I can't help but feel…_rejected_ when I don't get chosen to be raced with. I suppose if anyone's to blame, it would be the game developers. I'm programmed this way, so I am who I am. It didn't use to bother me so much…until one day, a couple of teenagers arrived to the arcade and payed their quarters into our console. When they were ready to choose a racer, my picture was in the centre of the 9-panel selection roster. And do you know what they said when they landed the selector on me?"

The boy was suddenly afraid to hear the answer. "What?" he asked tentatively.

With the memory gripping her candy heart painfully, Crumbelina shut her eyes. "They said, _'Not her, she looks lame. Pick a cooler racer'_."

Shock and disbelief stabbed Gloyd Orangeboar in the chest as he stared at the poor girl. He had heard many things in his two-decade long life as a prankster, ranging from angry fires of name-calling and rude insults, to the occasional death threats, all coming from his most-recent victims. He had been coded with tough skin and could tolerate the verbal ammunition without any problems. But this? This was a whole new level entirely. And not a very nice one. "Oh, that…that's just _mean_," he breathed.

Crumbelina finally opened her eyes, keeping her gaze down upon her boots. "It was," she whispered. "And it hurt. After that…I began to feel like something was wrong with me. I felt there had to be a reason that the players didn't like me...but I've never been able to find a way to fix the problem."

"Did you happen to notice that my music has been sad sounding only?" she asked him glumly, still keeping her gaze low and not waiting for an answer. "It's always been like that, Gloyd. Every night, when I come out here to this balcony to play my violin, I can only create sad music. It's my own way of releasing this pain inside me that only grows bigger every day that passes when I'm not chosen to race."

She tilted her head up to look out to the sugary world beyond her mansion once more. "But I don't want the others to know. This is such a silly thing to sulk over, I don't want them to worry about it for my sake. But I can't help but let it get to me. And now you know," she sighed without looking at him.

There was silence as Crumbelina stared out to _Sugar Rush_'s massive environment. Gloyd however, kept his eyes locked on her. She wasn't crying, though he felt she had every right to. Even if he hadn't come to admire her like the way he secretly always had, her story of pain and depression still would have broken his heart. He had to do something to tell Crumbelina that this wasn't true.

Crumbelina heard Gloyd sliding closer to her and stiffened when she felt his hand touch her shoulder. Gloyd's touch was light, yet warm.

"For the record, …I think you're a really great racer."

She finally turned her head to face him directly. "That doesn't seem to matter to the players," she muttered dismissively.

"But it's still true," he insisted, trying his best to be gentle in his tone. Being compassionate wasn't exactly his specialty, but he had to try. "You're not just super fast on the track, you're one of the smartest and skilled racers out there. Taffyta is a racing demon, and Swizzle treats the track like it's his baby that needs grooming, but you've got your own style in securing your placement on the leaderboard."

Crumbelina looked at him, straightening up slightly. She said nothing, so Gloyd took this as a sign to keep talking.

"So many times, I end up behind you during our races. And I watch the way you dodge those gumballs in Gumball Gorge…you make it look so easy that it's like child's play to you! And you always seem to know when and how to get the best of us when you grab power-ups. Most of us use them as quickly as possible, but I don't think anyone else on the track _waits _before firing their Sweet Seekers. The way you time your attacks and dodge ones heading for you is just…amazing!"

Crumbelina was eyeing him now, slightly impressed by the boy's observation skills, especially during a blood-pumping, adrenaline-rushing race. And of _her. _

"Honestly, Crumbelina? I think if we have fun on the racetrack, it doesn't really matter if a player chooses us," he continued. "We still get to race in all the races, player or no player. That's why we're here, right? Plus, those jerks in the arcade have got to be the biggest dumb-drops if they think you're lame. 'Cuz you're anything but! You're an awesome racer and you've got one of the best core abilities in your programming among the rest of us! I mean, come on, _'highest attack-strength for power-ups'_? Why would any player with half a brain not want that special power during a race? I'd kill to have it embedded in my code for just a day! All I can do is increase the players' protection against Sweet Seekers and Ice Cream Cannons. My core ability is nothing compared to yours."

"Don't say that, Gloyd," she finally responded. "Everyone's core ability is equally useful. But most of the players don't pay attention to our bios and our special powers when they go to select a racer. What they see is more attractive than what they read. They want the most colourful racer or the one with the coolest kart. One time, a kid picked Minty all because he liked her dance animation that we do when we get selected."

Gloyd pondered this through before speaking again. "But…even if that's true, you're still one of us, Crumbelina. You're still one of _Sugar Rush_'s ten racers. You may not be the top or most memorable one, but who says you have to be? You're still an important key factor in our game. Our races wouldn't be complete without all the racers racing together. I guess what I'm trying to tell you is…we _need _you. Y-you know how Candlehead's bio says that _Sugar Rush _and its races wouldn't be complete without her?"

"Yes?" she said, saying her answer more as a question; she was interested in where this was going.

"Well, I think that goes the same for all of us," Gloyd tried to explain. "And that includes you. Without you, we'd have one less opponent to race against. The whole game would be less challenging if the leaderboard was one racer short. The players crave the #1 spot the most if they knew that they beat nine other racers to get there."

Crumbelina was looking at him directly now, a sparkle gleaming in her eye as her lips slowly curved into a tiny smile. Gloyd's words were strange, yet were having an equally strange effect on her. He was fumbling with his jacket collar and she could tell he was trying his best to choose his words carefully, but the end result was a heartfelt speech with a certain truth embedded within. There was honesty present in his voice, weaved in a gentle tone that she would never have associated him to be connected with before.

Upon seeing her brightening up, Gloyd released his own crooked smile. "I know you have to dress to represent your candy theme and all that. You can't change that, none of us can. And this is gonna sound _so cheesy _and I'm no good at talking about this kind of stuff, but…looks don't matter. It's what you do that counts. And you do so much for this game, Crumbelina. And if what I'm trying to tell you doesn't make any sense to you, there's one thing you gotta know…"

Crumbelina gazed at him. "What's that?" she asked, her heart starting to beat faster.

"There's _nothing _wrong with you," stated Gloyd with growing strength enforcing his voice, as if he were stating a true fact, which of course he was. He knew that. "And if those jerks in the arcade don't see that, then that's their problem! You're perfect just the way you are!" His mouth began speaking a mile a minute, as if these were the words just waiting to spill on out. "I mean _look at you_…you're totally cool! And awesome! Your whole body gives off this metallic shine that makes you look like a freshly polished peppermint made of solid gold and those little buns in your hair have such a nice sparkle to them. The way you always skip from your kart to the podium before every race is like you're bouncing on air…your dance animation that you perform on screen when you win a race and the way you fold your arms with your 'all-business' look is just so perfect, not to mention that you're beautiful and so nice to look at…"

His brain suddenly caught up to his tongue a split second before he realized exactly what he was just blurted out to the girl sitting next to him. "Uh…did I just say that?" he asked in a stupid voice.

Crumbelina DiCaramello wasn't looking sad anymore. Instead, she wore a mesmerized smile that was a mixture of surprise and amusement. "I think you did," she answered quietly, her heart beat racing faster than her Tira-Missile.

"Oh fudge."

Blushing like mad, Gloyd covered the side of his face in embarrassment as he looked anywhere but at the girl, feeling positively foolish and flustered as he tried unsuccessfully to hide himself. "Sorry, sorry, sorry…I don't know why I said all that…I mean, I meant to say it, but…I mean…oh sugar…"

Crumbelina wasn't exactly sure why she found his blushing or his blubbering completely adorable, but she did. Luckily, she decided to spare him the trouble. "Okay, okay, I get it," she grinned as she gently touched his arm. "That…that's really sweet of you to say that, Gloyd. I don't think anyone's said that about me before."

"Well, it's true," he muttered, his face sporting an even deeper shade of crimson. "I wouldn't say it if it wasn't."

Now it was her turn to blush. Her hand absent-mindedly rose to her lips bashfully as the words Gloyd had just spitballed slowly melted into the fabric of her mind. "So, you really think I'm beautiful, huh?"

There was no way the red in his cheeks could intensify by this point. Yet somehow it did. "Um…ye-yeah," he mumbled.

There was an awkward silence that followed after that as neither kid said anything more. Then Gloyd felt Crumbelina tap him on the shoulder, prompting him to turn back and meet her soft, almost mystified gaze. "Well, thank you, Gloyd. You're very kind. What you said really means a lot to me. Really, it does. And…I feel better. I do have fun on the racetrack, whether I'm being controlled by a player or not. And I love being a part of _Sugar Rush_. Maybe I don't have to be chosen every day to know that I'm important to our game…even if it has been four months…"

Despite his current position, her wavering voice somehow helped Gloyd to gain some confidence back in order to help her regain all of hers. "Listen, even if you don't get picked for four _more _months, you're still important to the gameplay no matter what. _Sugar Rush _is where we belong and it doesn't matter how much we're played with. What matters is that we're there for the players when they need us. That's why we were created, right?"

She smiled warmly at him, a light blush still cascading her cheeks. "Right."

Silence fell again as they just looked at each other, light blushes still very present on both their faces. That completely improvised speech had wiped a lot out from Gloyd's mind, particularly that last part which had come out of nowhere, but he had spoken the truth without clever wit or sarcasm at any point. Most unusual for him. The weird thing was that he had meant every word of what he had told Crumbelina, including the part where he had said that she was beautiful.

He gulped as it hit him again that she now knew what he thought of her. He also noticed now how close they were sitting next to each other, with only a few inches of separation. He let out a low whistle and clicked his tongue before turning his gaze back out to Racers' Ave. In the distance, his eyes landed on a tall blue popsicle tower house sprinkled with liberal mounds of white icing sugar. How interesting.

"Hoo boy, um…get a load of Adorabeezle's house, huh? Looks like a snowstorm blew over it and left the rest of the street alone."

Crumbelina giggled at his obvious attempt to change the subject. She decided to play along. "Oh, well if I know one thing about Dora, it's that she loves her snow and wintery scenes. If she can't live up in the Ice Cream Glaciers near Soft Serve Speedway, she'll just have to decorate her place to make it feel like she's up there."

"I was thinking of getting her next," Gloyd said with a roguish grin. "What do you think? Swap her decorative icing powder for salt?"

This suggestion earned him a whack at the head from Crumbelina's cap. "Don't you dare, Pumpkin Pie," she scolded, though she was smirking and her tone was light.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Miss Caramello, is that not reminiscent enough for master prankster Gloyd Orangeboar?" he sneered. "Fine…just for you, I'll go with the flour."

Crumbelina whacked him again, and then laughed. It was a very cute sort of laughter to Gloyd's ears, distinctly lady-like, yet full of childish youth. He also couldn't help but chuckle too.

"Seriously though Gloyd," she said once recovering. "I'd give Adorabeezle a break if I were you. You already stuffed jelly into her kart this morning and I heard that she wasn't too happy about it."

Gloyd nodded. "Yeah, okay," he agreed. Every once in a while, even he could tell when enough was enough.

The talking died shortly after that, and they resumed quietly sitting and looking out to the balcony's view. Every so often though, Crumbelina would slip a subtle side-glance over at Gloyd with a small growing smile on her face. Her mind was doing some deep thinking on all that he had said to her, and while his words had provided comfort and assurance to her problems, there was something even bigger that she was slowly coming to terms with. To her, it almost felt like she was meeting Gloyd for the first time. And she liked what she was seeing, enough to the point that she was growing rather fond of him.

It also made sense why he had been so good at observing her.


	4. Deserves Another

_A/N: I realized today is Valentine's Day. What a perfect set-up._

* * *

**Part 4 – Deserves Another**

All was quiet as Gloyd and Crumbelina continued looking out from the balcony. They could see a few of their friends mingling about down below, some mere silhouettes through their softly-lit windows, others going about their business outside. Gloyd squinted and saw Taffyta down the gingerbread road; her Pink Lightning was parked on her driveway and she was giving it a thorough polish. Everyone knew that she did this any chance she got; no wonder the kart was so glossy at the start of every quarter-alert.

"How's your head feeling?"

He looked over at Crumbelina when she asked this. "Come again?"

"I asked how your head was feeling. Does it feel better?"

It took Gloyd a minute to realize what she was referring to. He had been enjoying himself so much that he had forgotten why he was even here in the first place. "Oh, that. It's, uh, a little better, thanks." In truth, he had recovered very quickly, even before they had stepped out on to the balcony, but he figured that if he told Crumbelina this, she would send him home since there would be no reason for him to stay here any longer.

The girl smiled and turned her gaze back to the world. Gloyd did too, yet gave her a sideways glance in the corner of his eye, studying her.

Crumbelina had kept her cap off, so like the boy seated beside her, she was hatless. It was an unusual sight to see two racers of _Sugar Rush _without their hats on, something they could really only do afterhours lest they risk arousing suspicion from the players. She had a beautiful profile, especially without her cap, and she looked so relaxed. It would seem that his talking had helped her to feel better, a success for which he smiled to himself for. He turned his eyes back to the view, otherwise she would catch him staring at her. But even after he did, he felt the strong urge to gaze at her again, seeing as she was far more interesting to look at than the overlook of Racers' Ave.

A pair of yellow lights shone upon the sugar-dusted gingerbread street, accompanied by the gentle purring of an engine. Even in the night darkness, the pair could still make out the distinctly rainbow-coloured racing kart that was none other than Swizzle's Tongue Twister as it pulled to a gentle stop in front of Minty Zaki's green candied apple condominium, just down the street from Crumbelina's mansion. Swizzle had recently made an extensive modification to his kart so that it now featured two seats: one for him and one for a passenger directly behind him. And who would be worthier for having the honour of being the swirly beanie-wearing daredevil's company for driving than his new girlfriend? Crumbelina watched as Swizzle leapt gracefully out of driver's spot, then held his hand up to assist Minty with the step down from his newly installed seat. Minty would probably do her classic backflip to dismount a kart any day, but with Swizzle there to offer such a valiant gesture, it made perfect sense why she would opt for that instead. As soon as she was on the ground, the boy kissed her hand, making her giggle. It was all in the way the bow in her hair flapped up and down. The sight of this made Crumbelina smile: of course Swizzle would make the effort to install such an addition to his own kart that would do nothing to enhance his racing performance, but rather allow him to take his Minty out for a wild ride together. Swizzle may have been a thrill-seeking, up-beat risk-taker, but he was also a kind and thoughtful friend to have. Minty deserved no one else. As an equal lover for extreme tricks and stunts, she suited Swizzle's personality like a matching puzzle piece and they were perfect for each other. How could anyone think otherwise? Crumbelina figured that the couple must have just returned from a late-night drive. _How romantic, _she thought to herself dreamily.

It made even more sense to her as she suddenly remembered that today was in fact Valentine's Day.

Then, further up the lane, something else caught her attention: it was the Kit Kart and the Ice Screamer as they were parking in front of Candlehead's red velvet cupcake house further down the road. The respective drivers hopped out, during which Crumbelina noticed the blue crochet scarf looped around Rancis' neck. She watched as the boy walked Candlehead to her front door, immediately followed by the candle-wearing girl pulling him into a very tight hug. Even from way over here, Crumbelina could make out the mad blush playing across Rancis' face, almost making him look like Jubileena. Again, she smiled; Rancis had never been a huggy-sort of person (in contrast to Candlehead), though she had to admit that he been growing a lot closer to his peers in the last few months following their adoption. Especially to Candlehead. Though nothing official had been declared, Crumbelina could see as plain as day what those two apparently could not at the moment. It was most interesting to her: in contrast to Swizzle and Minty, Rancis and Candlehead were almost complete opposites to each other, yet there was something that had shaped their bond characteristically strong enough to ignore this factor completely. With their mom and dad basically an example of this, however, it wasn't completely bizarre.

"I heard that Candlehead got a new engine block for her kart," Crumbelina spoke up. "Rumour has it that Rancis gave it to her. Do you have any idea where he got that?"

She glanced at Gloyd…and immediately found something far more interesting to look at. He was gazing out at Racers' Ave. just as she had been doing, yet he was not smiling. Not at all. In fact, the expression on his face was far from it: his mouth was twisted stiffly, his brow was drooping heavily, and his eyes looked oddly cold. Hurt, almost. Wordlessly, Crumbelina stared at him with a curious eye, then back at the two pairs of racers below, and then back again at Gloyd.

And then it hit her.

"Gloyd?" she asked curiously.

He broke his hard stare and turned his head to look at her. "Yeah?" Even his voice was noticeably withdrawn from energy.

"Back inside, when you were apologizing for your prank earlier, you mentioned that you were bored, did you not?"

Gloyd blinked. "Um…yeah?" he said in confusion, not really sure why she had suddenly decided to bring that up.

"This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with Swizzle and Rancis, would it?"

Gloyd's heart almost skipped when she said the names of his best friends. Had he been that obvious? His mouth chose to react faster than his brain could. "Uh, um, er…"

Her suspicion confirmed, the girl couldn't help but smile smugly at her success. "I knew it. You're jealous."

The boy suddenly stopped blubbering. _"What?" _he asked a little too loudly.

"You're jealous," she stated, a mischievous look in her eye. "All the boys have hooked up with someone except for you."

This made him frown big time. "That's not true!" he said, now feeling an ugly mixture of annoyance and anger rising in his stomach. "That's not why I'm bored at all!"

"It's not?"

"No," he snapped firmly. He glared angrily at Crumbelina and gave a huffy breath before he began to rant. "I'm _bored _because Swizzle and Rancis are gone! They were the only friends I had! _You _of all people should know that everyone hates me! No one likes my pranks or my jokes. But Swizz and Rance were my best buds since our game was first plugged in and now they both got girlfriends now…and left me all alone. I don't have anyone to play with anymore! Every time I want to hang out with them, it's always 'Sorry Gloydster, I have a date with Mints,' or, 'Maybe tomorrow Gloyd, I promised Candlehead I would help her tune up her kart tonight.' Every day is the exact same thing, and I'm so sick of being left on my own when the arcade closes! Being singled out is the worst thing ever! I just…I can't…"

His voice cracked and he couldn't go on; Gloyd didn't realize that he was hyperventilating or that pooling tears were stinging his own eyes. He angrily crossed his arms, practically folding himself into himself, and shut his face away from the girl with a pout. Like a malfunctioning go-kart giving its last wheeze of effort before collapsing in a pathetic heap on the spot, his whole system was fuming over all the worked-up energy that had finally vented clean out of his system. Energy that had been building up steadily every passing day when his two best bros headed off for a night of fun with their significant others and continuously left him in the dust. And it was this negative, dark energy that had accumulated in a rapid spitfire display of anger and frustration before Crumbelina DiCaramello, the girl with whom for a short while he thought he might have actually been making progress in connecting closer to, but now felt that this progress was destroyed thanks to his rant of self-pity. Just the thought of this made him feel even more sorry for himself. It was for this reason why he froze when he felt a gentle hand land on his shoulder. He looked up at Crumbelina again, expecting her to be glaring at him with that same look from earlier that night, but instead was met with a different expression in her eye. One not of despise and loathing, but of gentleness and compassion.

"So, you're not jealous," was all she said.

"Of course, not!" he hissed. "I'm not jealous, I'm…"

"_Lonely."_

He stopped dead when she sharply cut him off. "Well…maybe a little," he mumbled in defeat. He gave a sad sort of sigh and dropped his head down. He had nothing left to hide.

Crumbelina smiled sympathetically at him. "Oh, Pumpkin Pie," she murmured as she slid herself right up against him to move her hand to his back, rubbing it soothingly in small circles. Now she understood. The poor boy must have been pretty darn lonely to have put on a big fiery show like that. She was beginning to feel regretful for misinterpreting his loneliness for jealousy, but at the moment, there was a much more pressing matter she had to deal with first.

"Gloyd, we don't hate you," she said gently, yet firmly. "None of us do…I certainly don't. Pranking and joking around is a part of your code."

A fragment of Gloyd's mind lay stunned that Crumbelina was softly pressing the side of her whole body against his, even more that she was still being kind to him despite his angry outburst, but the majority of him was still too upset to notice or care. He glanced up at the sparkly street with red eyes. "You all sure do a good job at hiding that, then," he muttered without looking at her.

"We react the way we do because that's how anyone would react after getting tricked and falling for a prank," she explained, maintaining her kind and gentle tone. "But we all still get a laugh, since it's all in good fun. Your pranks are fun and full of spirit, instead of the harmful sort that would actually hurt us."

Gloyd felt that twinge of regret again as he recalled the injuries Crumbelina would very well have suffered the following morning thanks to him.

"Gloyd, you're clever and talented," she went on strongly. "None of us can set up a perfectly-calculated prank that works every single time. The work that you take pride in is more than well-deserved. Although I will admit…sometimes you do become a bit overbearing. Perhaps if you set the pranks aside for a while and took the time to hang out with the others…you could become a lot closer to your friends and make some new ones like the rest of us have over the last year."

She watched Gloyd's downcast eyes carefully. She observed them as they slowly traveled back up at her. "It's…hard for me to make new friends," he admitted at last.

"Well, I hate to tell you this, Pumpkin Pie, but no one said everything was going to be easy. But you still have to give it a try," she told him in a motherly tone that made him wonder if it been picked up from their adoptive mother. Though strict and fierce, there were several times when Calhoun had softened her demeanor when she was with her children.

"But what if I try, and _still _don't feel like I'm getting anywhere with anyone?" he mumbled sadly. "Honestly, sometimes I think it's easier not to try at all."

Crumbelina frowned. "But then you won't do _anything._"

Gloyd was silent for a moment before he turned his head away from her. "I don't expect you to understand, Crumbelina. I mean…you're always so sure and confident in everything you do. Everyone looks up to you and everyone likes you. You've never failed at anything before."

"That is not true, Gloyd," she told him firmly. "I'm just as vulnerable to making mistakes and messing up as anyone is. I'm only a video game character, just like you, Snowanna, Ralph, and everyone else we know. Just look at the way I used to treat Vanellope when we believed she was a mistake added to the game. I'm no better off than you are."

The boy stared down at the ground. "But that was one time. When have you ever failed as much as I have? You always seem to win at everything you do."

"And I was worried that I would fail every time," finished Crumbelina strongly. "Sometimes, you have to try things even if you might fail."

"But giving it my all…only for it to end up in one big fat fail is just the worse," he moaned.

Crumbelina countered this. "And being left on your own when the arcade closes doesn't feel much better, does it?"

"No," he muttered almost automatically, knowing very well that she was already proving her point.

"You won't ever know if you don't give it a try," Crumbelina soothed. "You'd be amazed at how nice everyone is around here. You can earn yourself a better name if you just give being friendly a shot. You've got nothing more to lose and only more to gain."

She smiled. "As for Swizzle and Rancis…well, they've each found someone who reaches them on a new level. And…that makes you feel like they're fading away from you, doesn't it?"

Gloyd said nothing. He kept his gaze low and nodded mournfully.

"But that's not true," she hummed gently into his ear. "They've always been your best friends and they always will be. True friendships last forever, no matter where we go or who we meet. We just have to trust each other. It's what friends do, especially best friends. Right?"

Gloyd sighed. "Right," he mumbled.

"And," she added, "Even if you can't see what's so great about Minty or Candlehead, you _can _see how happy they make Swizzle and Rancis. To a best friend, that's all that really matters."

Gloyd knew deep down in the pit of his code that she was right. It didn't mean that it was any easier for him to accept this, but her words were at least clearing up all the confusion and sorrow he had been feeling for the last few months. Mustering up some humility, he heaved in and let out a deep breath of fresh air to clear his head.

"Maybe you're right," he muttered quietly, feeling rather defeated. "I do see how much happier they are when they're with their girls…I guess I can be happy for them."

Crumbelina smiled gently as she let her hand rest down on his shoulder. "Swizzle and Rancis will never abandon you, Pumpkin Pie. But even so, perhaps you wouldn't feel so lonely if you expanded your group of friends. It's never too late to make some new ones."

She took on a more serious look. "Perhaps…you need to change your outlet."

"What does that mean?"

"Perhaps Gloyd, you should do what I suggested earlier. Give pranking a rest to take the time to grow closer to your fellow racers. I'm not telling you to stop the pranking sprees completely, because it's your passion and special talent. But every once in a while, it would never hurt to give the jokes and gags a break, and spend some time with some potential new friends. I mean this in the best way ever. Show them some kindness and that you truly want to draw closer to them. A little kindness goes a long way."

She took a moment to ponder on something else. "You know, Taffyta is probably the best example for you to follow here. Ever since we got adopted, she went from cocky and arrogant to a pleasant friend. She and I have become a lot closer, something I thought would never happen. There's no way she would be congratulating someone else for winning a race a year ago like she does now. She has told me that her reformation was difficult for her. But in the end, she pulled it off. She's a much better friend to hang around with now. If Taffyta can change, anyone can."

The marshmallow moon's bright light shone down upon the balcony as Gloyd Orangeboar mulled upon all these words spiraling inside him, which were slowly meshing with the sugar-coated gears of his brain. He sighed deeply and wiped the last traces of tears from his eyes. He looked back up at the girl's face, which he realized was so close to his own. He let out another, exhausted breath as his heart spoke some difficult words out of his mouth.

"I have no idea how or if this is going to work or how I even start…but if you think I can do it, Crumbelina…I'll give it a try."

Crumbelina smiled warmly at him. "That's all I can ask of you, Gloyd. Change starts with you. You have the desire to become a better person, now it's time to see what you can really do. I know you can do it, because I believe in you."

Gloyd lowered his eyes, his whole mind feeling positively drained from everything that had unfolded tonight. He was briefly stunned yet again when Crumbelina unexpectedly wrapped her arm around his shoulders and gave him an affectionate squeeze, bringing them both into a small side-hug. She had certainly never done that to him before, and he had the feeling that she didn't do this to just anyone.

"You know, I really underestimated you, Pumpkin Pie," she murmured loftily as she gently pressed the side of her head against his. "I've always seen you as obnoxious and troublesome on the outside, but now I've seen what lies beneath the surface. You're a caring, sensitive guy who just has trouble showing his feelings. I don't want to toot my own horn here, but…I tend to see things in people that others don't. But for some reason, you've been special: until tonight, there is so much more to yourself than either you or I realized. But now I can see it clearly now. Your mind might be buried in icing at times, but you've got a heart of golden caramel. I know you can change if you truly give it a chance. With a little work, maybe you'll find yourself a happier life as _Sugar Rush_'s Halloween Hooligan. And I can help you if you'd like."

Gloyd blushed heavily, but finally found it in himself to smile. His insides were feeling a million times lighter thanks to the girl at his side and her words of reassurance that everything was going to be okay. He even leaned a little into her hug, letting her comfort wash over him.

"I've never really known you all that well either," he admitted quietly, his cheek gently 'smushing' against hers. "But…I always knew you were good at looking after us. Giving us advice and all that…"

"It's a habit," she hummed, a distinct glimmer of pride in her voice. Being the honourary big sister of the racing crew truly had its merits.

"Sorry I made a big stink over it," he muttered apologetically.

"No harm done," she assured him. "I bet it felt good to let it out, hm, Pumpkin Pie?"

"Yeah it…it did, actually."

All fell silent as they sat there, basking in each other's presence. Gloyd took careful breaths as he listened to the Crumbelina's own steady breathing pattern and reflected on where he was at this point. The road ahead didn't look so easy, but Crumbelina believed that he could travel along it. Maybe he could too.

So engrossed in these developments within his mind, he almost didn't notice Crumbelina beginning to slowly rock them from side to side in a gentle sway, or that she was singing a soft, touching tune.

_Precious child__  
__Of Halloween,__  
__You're worth much more__  
__Than it may seem_

_There is so much to your life__  
__than your unreached dreams_

Gloyd stared at the girl, who was singing in the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. She was like an angel and he could literally feel his heart melting in her hold around him.

_Precious one__  
__So special too,__  
__When you doubt your plan for you__  
__Just take a look around you__  
__At all the joy you bring_

_The way you live,__  
__The love you give,__  
__To those around you,__  
__The lives you touch__  
__Is worth so much__  
__and that's how Sugar Rush made you_

With her arm still looped around him, she turned her head to lock eyes with the boy. Gloyd blinked once, positively mesmerized by her in absolute awe and practically surrendering his soul to the magic she had just created.

"I…I didn't know you could _sing too_," he said weakly.

Crumbelina smiled wistfully. "You're actually the first one to know. There's quite a bit you've learned about me tonight, isn't there? But then…I've learned a bit about you too."

Not until she finally released him did he speak again.

"Um, Crumbelina?"

"Hm?"

He shifted his body a little to face her better. He met her gaze and inhaled deeply before saying his piece.

"Thanks for being so kind to me. And for helping me. You've always been like the big sister to the rest of us…w-what I mean to say is…I'm really glad we're friends. That makes me happier than I've ever been in my life," he finished truthfully.

Crumbelina observed him carefully with soft eyes that twinkled in the moon's luminance. The expression on her face now once again told Gloyd that she was thinking deeply, mulling over his declaration of profound thanksgiving and gratitude. There was no subtleness to it whatsoever. So in response, she picked up the last biscotti from the bowl and broke it in half. She placed one of these fragments in to Gloyd's hand.

"Call me Lina. All my closest friends do."

Gloyd looked at her in amazement before smiling a warm smile of contentedness. You have no idea how long he's been waiting to hear something like that. He closed his fingers around the biscotti.

"Thanks…Lina."

"My pleasure…Pumpkin Pie."

Crumbelina matched his smile as she ate her half of the biscotti. Then she picked up her violin once more and wordlessly started a new song. As the boy settled back to listen, neither he nor she could deny one thing:

This song was a lot happier than what she had been playing for the last four months.

It was the most beautiful sound Gloyd had ever heard.

* * *

_**To be continued...**_


	5. Adorabeezle's Bewilderment

**Part 5 – Adorabeezle's Bewilderment**

An hour or so later, the Tira-Missile arrived safely to Gloyd's driveway that led up to his humble establishment: a giant candy corn house surrounded by a large gummi pumpkin patch, complete with an expansive candy corn field in the backyard. In addition to an elite _Sugar Rush _racer and resident prankster, Gloyd was an expert candy farmer, able to raise and harvest many acclaimed sweets to sell at the local market that the game's citizens just couldn't get enough of. Now that the racers were more acquainted with the rest of the arcade games, many of the citizens from the other games were coming over to buy some of his candy. Even Calhoun was impressed by his hand-grown sweets, which Gloyd was secretly very proud of. He had never given a thought to expanding his little side-business before, but with his growing success, he was now considering opening a second candy stall in Game Central Station.

Crumbelina had decided that she would drive Gloyd and his disused pranking items back to his house herself. Even though it was a very short distance, she figured correctly that the boy was very tired from all that had unfolded that night and could use a bit of a break. Besides, that bag of flour was mighty heavy. Since the go-karts were only made to seat one racer, Crumbelina and Gloyd had to struggle a bit to dismount the driver's seat from which they had had to squeeze rather uncomfortably close together during the quick drive to Gloyd's place. That meant Gloyd had spent maybe a whole minute with the side of his face and body squashed against Crumbelina's as the latter drove him home. Honestly, he didn't mind that too much. She felt warm.

Once out, the girl opened the trunk of her kart, allowing Gloyd to haul out the large sack of flour, while she assisted him by taking out his empty syrup pistol, pretzel stool, and licorice rope. With all of Gloyd's belongings gathered up, they headed towards his front door together.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Gloyd told her, the sack weighing his shoulder down as he made careful steps past his pumpkin patch. "I could have just walked home."

"I know," answered Crumbelina with a smirk. "But I figured you could use a break from everything you've been through lately. Besides, I needed some exercise either way."

Gloyd couldn't help but smile at her response, despite the heaviness of the flour sack. He had already made plans to return it to the bakery tomorrow after the races, along with apologizing for stealing it in the first place. Even if Beard Papa and the rest of the security staff decided to formally ban him from the premises after that, they would at least know that he was sorry for the theft.

Upon arriving on Gloyd's porch, the boy shifted the weight of the sack as he opened his door and flicked on the light. He walked inside, followed closely by the girl. "Sorry, this place is such a mess," he said apologetically as he dumped the sack onto the floor close to the wall, creating a dull sound not unlike '_WUMP'_. "I wasn't really expecting any company…"

Crumbelina placed the stool down next to the sack and left the pistol and rope on top of it. She then took a look around; she had never been in Gloyd's house before. It was the exact opposite of her place, yet it seemed to match his personality and candy motif perfectly, just like her furnishings paired with hers. Ignoring the various pieces of candy corn, jelly beans, and candy wrappers scattered all over the floor, the entire interior visible to the naked eye gave off the distinct impression that Gloyd was throwing a Halloween party, with orange and black streamers strung from corner to corner, paper bats and stuffed ghosts hanging from the ceiling, and several glowing Jack O' Lanterns sitting on the table with their ever-lasting candles shining through the creepy faces that she knew he took pride in cutting out just right. Somehow, the sight of all this, mixed with Gloyd's humble admittance of its arrayed state, made her giggle.

"It's so _you_," she teased, nudging him in the arm playfully. He smiled as he blushed, yet said nothing.

Silence fell for only a brief moment before Crumbelina spoke again. "Well, now that that's all been taken cared of, I should be off. Big day of racing tomorrow, and we're both on the leader board."

He nodded. "Yeah. Hey, that just means that you'll have another chance at being picked as a racing avatar."

She smiled a little and let her eyes fall upon a particularly haunting Jack O' Lantern sitting on the floor near her boot. "Perhaps," she said, feeling a little queer as she did. Though there was still a hint of longing in her tone, it didn't hurt so much to mention this topic as it had before their exchange on her balcony a few hours ago.

Even so, loyalty bustled in once more as Gloyd quickly brought forward another round of reassurance. "Hey, hey, remember what I told you, Lina. You don't need the whole world to know that you're important to the game and a special person overall. 'Cuz I know that. And…you know that. Right?"

Crumbelina met his gaze and smiled at his words of kindness. "I do," she said confidently.

Before Gloyd could think about saying anything else, Crumbelina walked up to him and gave him a hug. A very gentle hug. Gloyd felt himself go red, but slowly returned this affectionate gesture. He wasn't used to hugs. Sometimes he and Swizzle would violently snatch each other in a 'bro hug' after either one of them was in the crazed celebration of winning a victorious race, but the girls didn't usually get close to him. Candlehead sometimes wrapped him up in a super tight one whenever he had the chance to chat with her, but she did that to anybody. She was a natural-born hugger. But never in his life did he think that Crumbelina DiCaramello would ever embrace him like this. And she was doing it _willingly_. Tonight was just full of surprises.

They stood there for a few moments until wordlessly separating. Clearing her throat, Crumbelina spoke promptly. "Well, I'll leave you to get some rest before the arcade opens, then. Happy Valentine's Day, Pumpkin Pie."

Gloyd's soft smile suddenly vanished. "Huh?"

"Valentine's Day. Didn't you know it was today?"

He stared at her. No, he had had no clue that today was Valentine's Day until she had mentioned it so off-handedly, on account that he never really cared for that kind of holiday and had never bothered to check his calendar (he also couldn't remember if he owned one or not).

Fun fact: he didn't.

"Oh…right. I'm, uh, more of a Halloween boy myself…"

She laughed at his obvious statement. Gloyd, however, remained rooted on the spot, his mind working a mile a minute. "I, uh…I didn't get you anything."

Crumbelina stopped laughing and waved her hand breezily. "That's not necessary, Gloyd."

"No, no, no, really, I-I…I gotta get you _something_," he stuttered, suddenly becoming aware that he was now sounding like a total idiot, blubbering away and not even moving from where he was standing. He had never gotten a girl anything for Valentine's Day before. Crumbelina didn't seem to mind at all, but to him, it felt just _wrong _not to give a gift or something to his new friend, who had helped him so much tonight. He had to show her that he was beyond grateful for her life's worth of kindness in setting him back on the right path. But how?

"Um…wait right here!" he suddenly ordered before turning on his heel to dash upstairs.

Crumbelina watched him go, wondering what he was up to. In the corner of her peripheral vision, she sensed that someone, or something, was watching her. Her mind whirred into action and she whipped her head around, hands ready in defense, but didn't see anything. Whatever it was…it was gone.

There was a lot of thumping coming from upstairs, followed by a loud crash or two.

Making her way over to the large window by Gloyd's orange striped couch, Crumbelina looked outside. The unchanging moon was just as bright as she had last seen it among the inky black sky, and she could see Adorabeezle's blue popsicle tower house across the street. Gloyd was right; with all the icing sugar that Dora sprinkled over every inch of her property, it did look like a snowstorm had passed over it, and it alone. Everywhere else along the street was devoid of white powder.

On the small table supporting another Jack O' Lantern, this one sporting a ridiculously goofy expression, she found a small framed photograph. It was of Gloyd, along with Rancis and Swizzle; the swirl beanie-wearing green-haired boy had his arms looped on the other boys' shoulders. All three looked so happy. Crumbelina smiled warmly at the sight of the three silly boys grinning so care-free. This photo reminded her a lot of her own framed photo featuring herself, Anna, Dora, and Jubi, which was hung in her bedroom for her to see every day. If Gloyd felt like Rancis and Swizzle were slipping away from him, it was no wonder why he would feel so hurt on the inside. She herself would certainly be distraught if any of her good friends disappeared. Hopefully though, she had managed to clear this up for him, and reassure him that his best friends were indeed not fading from his life.

The sounds of creaking stairs resonated throughout the living room, and she looked up to see Gloyd returning from the floor above. And he was holding something in both hands. As he touched down on the ground level, she saw that it was a very large piece of candy corn. Its size wasn't abnormal; in _Sugar Rush, _candy came in all kinds of proportions. But what was unusual about this candy corn was its colour: it was a dark, rich blue with faint aqua-white stripes.

"What's this?" she asked curiously.

"Blue candy corn," he answered proudly, as if that was the toughest question in the world. "I grow candy corn all the time in that field behind my house, and they're always orange with white and yellow stripes. But blue candy corn is extremely rare. They only grow twice in a blue moon, which barely happens around here. Not many people have seen this stuff before 'cuz they're so rare and _super _valuable."

Proud as he was with his in-depth knowledge on candy farming, Gloyd then softened his tone. "I want you to have this, Lina. Not just as my Valentine's Day gift to you, but something else. I only have two of these, so since now we'll both have one, I thought…maybe it could, you know…symbolize our friendship as well."

Crumbelina's eyes widened ever so slightly and she felt her heart flutter as she gingerly took the giant candy corn from him, her fingers briefly grazing his as the blue candy made the transfer. It had a bit of heft to it, but her eyes were locked on Gloyd in a rather mystified gaze.

"Gloyd, this is…so very sweet of you. Thank you. I'll bet this meant a lot to you."

He nodded. "It did. And it still does. But…it means a lot more to me that you have it now."

The Italian racer smiled sweetly at him, and then stood on tip-toe to kiss Gloyd on the cheek, subsequently unable to resist giggling at the expression that popped on his face immediately afterwards.

"Consider that _my_ Valentine's Day gift to you, Pumpkin Pie…as well as a thank you for what you did for me today. And my own way of symbolizing our friendship."

As if to top this cake with more icing, she batted her long eyelashes at him, speaking in a quiet hum. "See you tomorrow, Pumpkin Pie."

"Y-yeah…see ya."

And then she was gone.

Gloyd Orangeboar stood right there on the spot for a good ten minutes following this exchange. His eyes just stared in the general placement where Crumbelina had once been standing in his own home and his hand slowly found its way up to lightly touch the spot on his flushed cheek where her lips had made contact.

It had felt so bizarre to have her in his house, no matter how brief her stay was. But now that she had gone, Gloyd found himself wishing that she had never left.

He was only broken out of his trance when something red crossed his glazed vision, causing him to blink; he looked up and caught an annoying sight: at least five small red hearts were floating around his head, like a weird solar system and he was the sun. "Hey, get out of here! Shoo! Shoo! Go fly around Rancis or someone!" he exclaimed irritably as he swatted them away like flies. The hearts dissipated as quickly as they had spontaneously appeared, making him roll his eyes. "Bloody creeps," he muttered.

He let out a deep sigh and shuffled his way over to his couch. He practically dropped himself on to the soft marshmallow cushions since his legs just seemed to give up supporting him right there.

The throbbing in his head had long ceased, which was a very good thing since it would be an understatement to say that there was a lot filling Gloyd's head as he sat there, for it was quite saturated with all that had transpired within the last few hours, mixed with the delicacy of the violin's last song. Everything that had unfolded and the things that Crumbelina had told and taught him was crowding his conflicted mind. But even though certain pieces here and there were still confusing or flat out dazzling him, there was one undeniable constant that topped it all:

Crumbelina was his friend. And this alone made Gloyd so very happy.

He then glanced out the window to gaze up the road at her mansion standing tall and proud at the very end of the lane. _Thanks, Lina, _he thought with a smile. No matter how tough his life was going to be living as a reformed troublemaker, he knew that he would have Crumbelina by his side now to help him out. That already meant a ton to him.

He was still thinking of her as he turned his gaze back inside, landing his eyes upon some of his favourite glowing Jack O' Lanterns sitting on the table, glowing bright orange thanks to their ever-lasting candles shining through the creepy faces. Gloyd smiled a little as his thoughts wandered now to Candlehead, who often liked to visit him because of their shared fondness for candles that never went out. Perhaps he had friends alongside him all this time after all.

There was a movement by his feet. He looked down to see his pet candy rat, Mr. Spitfire, bumping his head against his boot, clearly pleased to see his master again. Gloyd picked him up. "Hey, buddy, ya miss me?" he asked the sugary rodent.

Mr. Spitfire squeaked.

The Halloween-themed boy smiled fondly. "It's been a weird night, Spitty. It's hard to think that I left this place thinking I knew who I was and what I was meant to do with my life…but now I'm so confused, but at the same time not confused. I know so much more about myself now, and at the same time, so little."

The rat tilted his head. By his expression, Gloyd could tell that Mr. Spitfire was very amused by the idea of the prankster bringing a girl home. He rolled his eyes. "No, Spitfire, she's not my girlfriend. She's Lina. And we…"

But before Gloyd could tell him anything else, a bright light suddenly caught his attention. It was coming from outside.

The boy peered out the window again; from just across the street, the light source was coming from Adorabeezle's garage. In the distance, he could make out the winter-themed girl on her hands and knees as she cleaned her kart with a candy wrapper rag. Gloyd instantly knew what she was doing: she was cleaning her Ice Rocket of all the purple jelly that he had filled into its combustion chamber this morning as a prank. The boy watched her work for a moment, then made a decision.

"I'll be right back," he told the rat. He set him down on the couch and then got up. He left his house and began walking towards Adorabeezle's property.

* * *

Adorabeezle Winterpop had taken off her cotton candy trapper hat and fuzzy leg warmers as she wiped out her kart's inner piping, sweat rolling down her forehead and her body aching from bending over in odd, painful angles. She was grumbling and muttering dreadfully to herself as she struggled to clean out the stupid jelly that the Ice Rocket wouldn't stop spewing out; it had to be in prime condition for tomorrow's races. Hearing a sound that wasn't her scrubbing or her grunting, she looked up and saw who else but Gloyd Orangeboar standing at the garage entrance. She immediately stopped what she was doing and glared daggers at him.

"What do you want, Gloyd?" she asked sourly.

Gloyd didn't blame her for taking on an unfriendly tone. After all, it was his fault why she was working late and sweating up a storm to repair the damage he had caused her. He tried to keep his tone soft and friendly. "Um, actually, Adorabeezle, I wanted to say I'm sorry for messing up your kart…and maybe if I could help you clean it up for tomorrow."

This surprised the girl. She just stared at him, not sure if she could trust him. But Gloyd had never apologized for anything he had done before. "Er…what brought this on?" she asked suspiciously.

He took a careful step into the garage. "Well, I've been doing some thinking…and I realized that it's not nice to prank someone all the time. And since I made this mess, I should clean up this mess." He picked up another wrapper rag from the purple-splattered floor. "So, can I help you?" he asked her politely.

Adorabeezle blinked, looking quite baffled. "S-sure," she said with a bit of uncertainty, but nonetheless, she let him stay and help her clean up the purple jelly.

Wrapper rag in hand, Gloyd got down on to his knees to get to work. As he proceeded to wipe away at the mess, he smiled a secret smile to himself.

Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as he thought.

* * *

Back in her mansion, Crumbelina DiCaramello sat upon her tiramisu couch, staring off into the stark and barren space without making a single sound. All was quiet and she remained very still, save for the occasional glance that she kept casting towards her sugar glass cabinet, which housed her golden _Sugar Rush _cups. Sitting next to them behind the protective sheet of glossy transparent solid sugar was the blue candy corn that Gloyd had gifted to her. It stood out among her generally colourless furnishings, but it somehow seemed to brighten the room with its beautiful blue shine. The girl smiled and then looked at the vacant seat beside her. Her couch somehow seemed rather empty without Gloyd sitting right there beside her.

She finally got up and drifted over to her full-body mirror in the hallway, which she used every day to make sure her appearance was suitable for the day's worth of quarter alerts. Even though there were still hours before the arcade was due to open, she was feeling an odd sense of self-consciousness after her deep conversation with Gloyd. She gazed at her reflection, and her reflection gazed right back as her hands smoothed out her golden skirt while her honey-amber eyes observed the metallic gleam emitted from her racing jacket. Finally, she removed her cap and fluffed her cinnamon hair buns just a bit. Satisfied, she smiled fondly at herself as the memory of Gloyd's unintentional declaration of how he thought she was beautiful wandered back to her mind.

She now knew that Gloyd was right: she didn't need the whole world to know that she was special…

…but maybe just one person would be enough.


	6. Epilogue: A New Way to Play

**Part 6 – Epilogue: A New Way to Play**

Gloyd brought the Kernel to a smooth stop at the finish line, letting out an exhausted, yet satisfied breath as he cut the ignition. It was early Thursday evening and the sun was setting. The Random Roster race had only finished, and he had secured himself a spot on the avatar slate, placing fifth just after Rancis. Near the booths that housed the racing officials, he could already see Candlehead skipping proudly up to the podiums to claim her golden trophy. The ditzy candle girl had battled it out tonight on the track, and even with her pure heart, Gloyd knew very well that Candlehead still liked to win every once in a while, just as much as anyone would. They _were_ racers after all; competition was the very core of their code, even with their reformed attitudes. Gloyd had to agree with Lina though; Candlehead's new engine in her Ice Screamer really was working to her advantage during the races. He watched as Sour Bill handed her the gleaming cup as she stood high on the #1 block, flanked by Taffyta and Jubileena, who were standing upon podiums #2 and #3 respectively. Predictably, Gloyd could see Rancis cheering the loudest among the rest of the celebrating citizens.

He removed his helmet and exchanged it for his pumpkin hat; while doing so, he happened to cast a glance up at one of the hundreds of decorative flag banners that bordered all of _Sugar Rush_'s racetracks. Quite by coincidence, his eyes had landed upon one that featured an illustration of Lina's face. The sight of that made him smile. Now out of his kart, the jokester was just about to make his way over when someone called out from behind.

"Hey, Gloydster! Wait up!"

Looking back, he saw Swizzle hurrying to meet him. "Hey, Swizz," he called back.

The boys did their mandatory secret greeting combination of handshakes and palm slaps when Swizzle reached him. "Slick racing out there, dude," he said breathlessly.

"Yeah, you too. You had a pretty close call with the Sweet Seekers back there. Thought for sure you were gonna wipe out with a massive sugar crash."

Swizzle smirked as he flicked a lock of green hair out of his face. "Hey, you know me, dude," he said with ease. "Entertain the crowds, give 'em that _Swizzle sizzle, _then pull a super recovery." He then cleared his throat and gave Gloyd an unusually serious look. "Listen, Orange-bro, I wanna lay down some deets to ya for a quick bit."

Gloyd looked at him curiously. "What's up?"

Swizzle scratched the back of his neck, now looking a bit guilty for some reason. "Me and Rancis have been doing some talking, and we think that we've both been hanging around our soulmates for a long time now, and leaving you out of the fun. And we're real sorry about that, man."

The orange-clad boy blinked in surprise before gathering his thoughts. "That's alright, Swizz. You…you guys each found someone who really makes you happy. And I can be happy for you just knowing that."

Swizzle smiled, looking relieved. "Thanks, man. But look, what I'm trying to say here is that we don't want you to feel like you're being ignored. We want to make it up to you and include you again so you're not feeling like the third wheel with either of us anymore. Mints and Candlehead both think so too, and agreed to leave our schedules clear for tonight. So how 'bout it? My place after work for a guys' night? I got the new GummiAccelerators we've been dying to whip out!"

As Gloyd looked at his friend, he felt himself smiling gratefully, both inside and out. Lina had been right. His best friends would never abandon him. "Well, thanks Swizzle, that means a lot. Really, it does. But…I'm going to have to take a raincheck on that. I have something I have to do tonight."

The green-haired boy raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Really? What're you up to?"

Before Gloyd could answer, the fine purr of a state-of-the-art racing kart engine interrupted. The boys turned around to meet the party: the Tira-Missile rolled up alongside the pair and Crumbelina leaned out from the driver's seat, leaving her engine running. She was still wearing her racing helmet. "Hello, boys," she greeted with a smile.

Swizzle gave a curt nod and a trademark 'Swizz' salute. "Evening, Crumbelina," he said politely.

"Hey, Lina," Gloyd said. Swizzle immediately gave him a funny look.

"A fine piece of work out there, both of you," the girl congratulated them. Then she turned to the orange one. "Gloyd? I'll see you at our rendezvous tonight?"

He blushed lightly at this, mostly because Swizzle was standing right there, but cleared his throat to respond. "Yeah, totally. Wouldn't miss it for the world."

She giggled and gave a lady-like wave of her fingers. "See you later, Pumpkin Pie. You too, Swizzle." And with that, she cruised off towards Racers' Ave., leaving a fine trail of glittery sugar dust particles in her path.

Gloyd waved after her. Not until she was out of sight did he turn to look at Swizzle and was met with a wide-eyed, disbelieving stare.

"What?" he asked, as if nothing was wrong. Because nothing was.

"Dude? Did you just call Crumbelina, _Lina?_"

He gave an easy shrug. "I guess," he said sounding aloof. But the look on Swizzle's face told him that the daredevil racer was not through with him.

"And what did she call _you?"_

"I dunno."

Swizzle kept staring at him. "And…you're seeing her tonight?"

He nodded in a casual way, turning his eyes back to the racetrack and beyond. "Yeah. We're hanging out."

An unusual silence fell between the boys. Gloyd was still staring off in Crumbelina's departing direction while Swizzle continued to eye his friend with great interest.

"Gloyd? You're not…?"

"Gotta go!" the Halloween-themed racer answered briskly as he mounted his Kernel and sped away before Swizzle could interrogate him further. There was only so much he was allowing himself to reveal.

After a few moments, Swizzle Malarkey walked forwards past the remaining parked racing karts until he was standing right on the finish line. He watched his best friend drive off into _Sugar Rush's _newly programmed sunset until he was completely out of sight. "Huh," he muttered to himself thoughtfully, one hand on his hip and his head tilted to the side with a most curious look in his eye. Swizzle wasn't alone for long though, for a few seconds later, Minty walked up to him from behind.

"What's up with Gloyd?" she asked him as she stood by his side. "Why'd he rush away from you so fast?"

Swizzle glanced at her for a moment, then back in Gloyd's direction. Wordlessly, he put his arm around the girl's waist. "I'm not sure, to be honest. But…if I didn't know my best friend better…I would think that he may have found something that I myself found recently."

"And what would that be?" Minty asked, as she leaned comfortably into his shoulder.

Swizzle then smirked as he held the green-haired girl closer. "Oh, you know…something special. But anyways, it looks like my schedule has unexpectedly been wiped clean tonight. How's about you and I head over to Dance Dance Revolution to twist the night away?"

Minty giggled. The bow in her hair flapped about carefree.

* * *

"You're hanging out with _who?"_ Snowanna burst out incredulously.

"I think you heard me clear enough the first time."

"But…but…_why?"_

"_Why_ what?"

The multi-coloured-afro girl stared at her friend. They were lounging out on Snowanna's front lawn in front of her snow cone fort home, which was a rainbow of crystalized igloos stacked strategically together in a large, articulated fort-like structure. There were giant sorbet sculptures in the shape of music notes lined in two rows bordering her driveway, which resembled a very long, multicoloured keyboard.

It was a most peculiar picture to see the girls relaxing in lawn chairs meant for the beach while in front of a house made of giant frozen desserts. Well, Crumbelina was completely relaxed as she let the setting sunlight graze her face with her hands behind her head. Snowanna, on the other hand, was all hysterics.

"Lina, this is _Gloyd _we're talking about! I have no idea what you said to him that night after you literally found him lying on your doorstep all those weeks ago, but come on…he's not exactly your type."

Crumbelina opened one eye at her. "Who says he has to be? It doesn't matter who he is. All that matters is that he is my friend," she answered calmly. "Is he not yours?"

Snowanna backed off a little at this. "Well…okay, yes he is. He _has _been less obnoxious these last few days…and he hasn't pranked me since the green dye incident. He even apologized for that. But still, what do you see in him that makes you want to…you know, _keep_ seeing him?"

The Italian girl closed her eyes once more. "I really underestimated that little pumpkin, Anna. Because yes, I once thought he was an idiot with no head on his shoulders. But he really opened my eyes that night. You may not see it, and until then, I didn't either. But now I know that he just needed a friend. He's just misunderstood. And lonely. And sweet."

"_Sweet?" _her friend repeated in pained disbelief.

"And kind of cute."

Snowanna Rainbeau stared at Crumbelina, who, in addition to smirking, was sporting a light, yet noticeable blush. She shook her colourful head. "Sometimes you're just a mystery to me, Lina. Why are we best friends again?"

Crumbelina maintained her cheeky smirk. "Our friendship would be so boring if we weren't unpredictable, I suppose."

An annoyed huff left Snowanna's mouth. "Well, anyways, what did you say you were doing with him tonight?"

* * *

_**Later:**_

"D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#...almost!"

Though Crumbelina's voice was strong, commanding, but also patient, Gloyd still winced as he struck a wrong note. He didn't know what he had accidentally ended up playing, but he could clearly tell that it wasn't a C#. It was all in the way that this note _didn't_ mesh nicely with the others.

"I dunno, Lina. I don't think I'm getting any better."

"You remember what I told you, Pumpkin Pie: practice makes perfect."

Gloyd blushed lightly as he lay the violin down from his chin. They were sitting upon an 8-bit log near the 8-bit lake shielded by the 8-bit forest that bordered the outskirts of _Fix-It Felix Jr. _Though the permanent night sky was dark, the 8-bit moon was shining its light just as brightly as their own newly-featured moon in _Sugar Rush. _Both kids were holding violins and a picnic basket filled with some of Crumbelina's finest sweets was sitting by their feet. Most of them were the biscotti Gloyd had enjoyed on that night when the pair had founded their friendship with each other, since he had taken a real liking for that flavour in particular. Several music sheets were positioned on a couple of Nicelander Mary's borrowed 8-bit stands as well.

The last few weeks had seen a lot between the violinist and the prankster, on account of their odd, yet deeply rooted friendship had only been blooming since the night Gloyd had tried to prank Crumbelina and she had subsequently found him unconscious on her doorstep. They now visited each other regularly and had discovered many ways to have fun together; mostly though, they just hung out in each other's houses. Sometimes Gloyd would visit her in the mansion, while other times, she would come to see him in his candy corn house. She helped him repair a stubborn block in his Kernel's braking function and just last week after work, Gloyd had taken her to his secret little cove near Sandy Candy Beach.

There was no doubting that Crumbelina and Gloyd were complete opposites of each other; she was highly posh and refined, he was goofy and immature in a comedic way. But that didn't seem to matter, for it did nothing to hinder their growing friendship. If anything, it very strangely only made it stronger. One would help the other where he or she was confused or feeling down. Gloyd found that he really enjoyed having Lina as a close and trusted friend, whom he no longer saw as someone who was too important to notice him. And Crumbelina discovered that she was becoming increasingly fond of Pumpkin Pie's presence, even going as far as admitting that she had a soft spot in her heart for the boy. He was funny, sweet, and made her laugh, mostly whenever he didn't actually try to. And from each other, they had learned a great deal about themselves too. The exposure to Gloyd's care-free lifestyle had enabled Crumbelina to begin to loosen up a little, while Gloyd himself was learning to be a bit more responsible for his actions and mature overall. Most importantly though, if both kids were to perform a self-assessment of their current status, they would easily find that they were far happier than they had been for many months prior. And it was that joy that their friendship brought to them that seemed to make all the difference. It was all that mattered.

But the most bizarre feature of their unexpected bond was the thing they were doing right there in the forest on this very night.

"You know, Lina, I wish you wouldn't call me that in front of the guys," Gloyd admitted hesitantly. "Cuz I get the feeling that they're starting to think…you know…that you and I…are a-a…"

"A _thing_?" Crumbelina finished for him with a smirk.

Gloyd nodded, making her laugh. "You're so _cute _when you're flustered, you know that?" she ribbed.

The boy was now blushing like mad. It wasn't that he minded this new nickname that Lina had seemed to officially adopt for him (after all, he had done a similar thing), he just wished that she could be a bit more subtle with how frequently she used it…he didn't want the others to start forming ridiculous ideas.

"Well, sweet-tooth, how's about this? Let _them_ interpret for themselves what you and I are. Let them decide what they want to think. As for us, the only thing that matters is that we both know where we stand now."

Gloyd's blush dissipated as he heard this and he couldn't help but match her smile. Probably the thing that he liked about Lina the most was that she had developed a knack for lifting his spirits no matter what mood he was in.

"Right," he said with confidence, feeling himself relieved of the burden of having to care what Swizzle and Rancis thought anymore. "I know what we are. I know who _you _are to me. You're the big sister I've always wanted. I just never realized that until a while ago."

"Exactly," she agreed. "And you're the little brother I've always wanted. But…who knows what can happen down the road, right?"

"Yeah," Gloyd said contently, his eyes trailing off into the dark forest. Then her words seemed to sink in, causing him to do a doubletake. "Wait, _what? _What did you just say?"

"Nothing," she said innocently, trying to suppress a giggle from her lips. That boy could be so funny sometimes in his slow childish nature. Once thought to be a nuisance, she now found it nothing short of simply adorable. She then accurately chose the right moment to divert his attention to a different subject. "Let's try again, shall we? Remember to think about the notes in your head as you go."

He nodded earnestly, though a fragment of his mind was still lingering on the part where she had off-handedly mentioned 'who knows what can happen'. He placed his violin into position while she did the same with hers. Together, they played the series of basic notes in the D Major scale laid out on the sheets in front of him, filling the quiet atmosphere with the sounds of music once more.

* * *

In her candle-lit bedroom, Candlehead carefully placed her new trophy upon the gingerbread shelf that was already holding sixteen others. They were all identical with their intricate design and golden glazed finish, and each had 'Candlehead' engraved upon the base in silver lettering. But upon trophy #17, Candlehead had used red icing to add an extra inscription in her sloppy handwriting:

'_**and Rancis'**_

Rancis Fluggerbutter himself sat upon Candlehead's sponge cake bed as he watched his friend position the newest addition to her trophy collection on the shelf. Since Swizzle had informed him an hour or so ago that Gloyd had unexpectedly postponed their planned guys' night for 'some reason', he had decided to spend his free evening with Candlehead, so they could celebrate her sweet victory together. Somehow, everything had worked out so nicely tonight.

The girl sat down next to him on the bed. "There," she said triumphantly. She turned to look up at him. "This is because of you, you know."

"What are you talking about?" he asked her casually. "You won the race. You won the cup. I just gave you a new engine, that's all."

She shook her head, her emerald-green pigtails swishing about. "Without you, I wouldn't even be racing by this point if I still had my old engine. It was time for him to retire peacefully. You helped me to race again, Rancy. That's why this cup is special. We won it together."

Candlehead said this in such a sincere tone that Rancis couldn't help but feel his insides turn to Jell-o again. He collected himself and flashed his trademark, cool-dude smile. The one that Candlehead secretly found adorable.

She lightly touched the blue scarf that was looped snuggly around the boy's neck. "I can't believe you're actually wearing this during gameplay," she said. "Aren't you afraid that this might risk another unplugging?"

Rancis smiled. He knew just as well as the next arcade character that consistency in their public appearance in the game was extremely critical. Any abrupt changes could be almost as risky as an absence, which could arouse suspicion in the players and Litwak, and, in the worst-case scenario, result in an unplugging if the conclusion was drawn that their game was bugged. However, because _Sugar Rush _had recently received this new update, Rancis had used this to his advantage.

"Well, I figured with all these new additions that came with our upgrade, the players would just assume this scarf was another feature added. Plus, Vanellope mentioned to me over Ralph's phone that a lot of professional racers that she met in _Slaughter Race_ wear scarves. So, who am I not to join the club?"

He offered her a softer look now. "And besides…you made this for me. I gotta show it off somehow, right?"

Candlehead beamed. "Yeah," she said with a blush cascading her cheeks. "You're right. I'm really glad you like it."

"I love it," he responded, making her blush more.

She then scooched closer to rest her head down on his shoulder. "I guess it's true what they say…pennies saved is a trophy earned. Or was it quarters?"

Rancis' smile vanished quickly as he tilted his head slightly away from her burning flame; he could feel the heat licking at his hair. He hated to ruin the moment, but if he didn't, his blond hair would be set alight and his peanut butter cup cap would melt on top of it. "Uh, Candlehead?"

"Yeah?"

He pointed to her hat. "Candle."

"Opps! Sorry!" she giggled as she lifted her head to remove her candle-topped beanie and set it on the bed beside her. She then resumed her position on her friend again, this time with no beanie or lit candle. She always had to remember to discard her hat before cuddling up to Rancis, lest she choose to burn him by mistake. But sometimes she forgot.

Good thing Rancis never did.

**THE END**

* * *

_A/N: And so we've reached the happy ending of Crumbelina and Gloyd's story! What an unusual pairing that no one would have expected: she's a rich and sophisticated girl with a high sense of responsibility. He's an immature prankster with little morals, but a big heart. And as they have learned during their time spent together, they can help each other out with every trial thrown their way and become better individuals, not just for themselves, but for all of those around them. As the old saying goes, 2 heads bumbling are better than 1. I've been wanting to write about Crumbelina and Gloyd for a long time and so it just feels so great to have the complete story posted, and even better that I can share it with you. Thank you everyone who joined me on this ride, as well as for any faves and reviews you send my way! I love to hear from you!_

_Speaking of stories, the next one in this growing story arc will be about Swizzle and Minty, and focusing on how they got together as a couple. No promises towards a release date for that, but ideas are already boiling to the brim and just need to be finalized on paper and processed through the editing procedure. _

_But until I see you again, stay sweet!_


	7. Sequel Announcement

Hey dudes and dudettes! This is no chapter, but rather an announcement.

I've been hard at work writing 'Extreme Hearts', my story on Swizzle and Minty, and I apologize for the delay in updates. Busy life, school, other things, yadda-yadda-yadda, we all know that jazz. But if it makes you feel any better, I've been working this summer in a lab that's been doing research in finding a cure for Covid-19.

While progress on 'Extreme Hearts' continues, I've also been working on another story, this one being the sequel to 'Violin's Song', going by the name 'Devastated'. Even though my WiR stories share the same universe, this one will be a direct sequel to 'Violin's Song', using everything from that story as its foundational basis and core. I don't have plans for a release date yet, but just a heads up that it will be coming.

As the title may suggest, 'Devastated' will take on a heavier and darker tone, touching on themes I've never written about previously. An emotional story down to its roots while staying true to the amazing and creative universe that Wreck-It Ralph set up. We'll see our characters go through trials and tests, but most importantly, character development. It's going to be much, much longer than 'Violin's Song' and include a far more diverse cast. The core 4 characters and all the racers will be involved, meaning I will be bringing Vanellope in to the spotlight for the first time ever. I wrote for her back in 'Braver Than You Think', but she was just on the phone, so I'm not really sure if I consider her a key player in that story. Here, she'll be in the flesh and a big part of the plot.

So big things coming from me! Judging by the feedback I've received in PMs, I take it you guys seem to enjoy my content just as much as I enjoy contributing my efforts to the WiR fan community. It's the least I can do to show my love for the film that is Wreck-It Ralph. Heck, even if you don't enjoy my stories, you still took time out of your day to read my content, and that makes me happy. But to tide you over until the sequel or another chapter of 'Extreme Hearts' is complete, and to see more of what I've been up to, check out the fun little sketches I doodled up for WiR (and a few sneak peaks of 'Devastated') on my DeviantArt page. Find me as MinionStuart2. Wish I could change my user name to match my Fanfiction user name and make it easier for you to find my various platforms, but it is what it is. At least the profile images match!

See you on the flipside!


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